TURNING 40 was the spur for John Batchelor to do something different.

And now the salesman from Blackburn is on the way to winning a motor racing championship in his very first year behind the wheel.

Although John, who works for System Hygiene at Altham, had watched the sport as a spectator for many years, his 40th birthday persuaded him to try his hand on the other side of the track.

But he needed a sponsor to help finance his bid in the British Super Road Saloon Series.

"Completely out of the blue I decided to write to Jack Walker to see if he could help!" he said.

A few weeks later he was contacted by Blackburn Rovers' marketing department who agreed to sponsor John and painted his car blue and white.

Now John, who races a 207 brake horsepower Ford Fiesta, is top of his championship table with two races to go.

"It has been a fantastic season and the support I have had off Rovers and everyone else has been great," said John of Revidge Road, Blackburn.

Other local sponsors include East Lancashire Box, System Hygiene, Phillips Office Team, Greyhound Ford, Greg Smith Financial Advice, Forbes, Colombia Motors, Autocol and Red Cap Trailers.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.