Legendary motorsport commentator Murray Walker OBE gave an inspiring talk to a team of Manx youngsters preparing for the Le Mans 24-hour karting race. Murray gave the talk at the TT Grandstand during a visit to the Island to see this year’s TT festival. He has a long association with the TT as he commentated on the event in his early years as a broadcaster in the 1950s - in fact Murray’s first official broadcast for the BBC was at the TT. His father Graham was also behind the microphone at the race in the 1940s and 1950s and won the Lightweight TT in 1931. Murray met members of 3 Legs Racing at the TT Grandstand. The team was formed following a collaboration between The Children’s Centre and Team Dazzle - an Isle of Man-based team of pro-kart racers. The young racers are getting ready for the Le Mans 24-hour pro karting event which takes place on July 2nd and 3rd. The aim of the kart racing challenge is to bring together a group of young people from across the Island who needed a catalyst to bring about real change in their lives. A team of nine young men aged 16 to 21 - Joe Callister, Adam Clarke, Will Griffin, Nathaniel Harper, Michael Hodgeson, Sam Lewin, Chris Mealin, Warren Spencer and Danny Sutton - were selected to take part in six months of training and race preparation under the guidance of Team Dazzle experts. They were all novices in kart racing when the project began in January, but they are now less than a month away from representing the Isle of Man in the 2011 Le Mans 24 hour pro-karting race – the world’s biggest pro-karting event. Murray Walker asked the team about their preparations and wished them luck in their big race in Le Mans. After answering questions from the team about his career as a motorsports broadcaster, Murray left the team with an inspiring story which he had remembered after watching the award winning documentary movie ‘Senna’ - about the Brazilian F1 legend Ayrton. Senna began his career in karting before becoming F1 World Champion and Murray recalled once interviewing him and asking Ayrton to name whom he respected most out of all of the drivers he had raced against. Murray said: “I expected Ayrton to say Prost, Mansell or Piquet - or one of the other top F1 drivers of that era. But Senna thought for about 20 seconds and then said: ‘Terry Fullerton!’. Terry Fullerton raced in karts which is where Senna began racing. Fullerton was brilliant and if he had gone on to race in Formula 1 I’m sure he would have been superb. But it’s interesting that the chap who gave Senna the hardest time was a kart racer - so who knows, that could be you.” Carl Faragher, Acting Head of Outreach Services at The Children’s Centre, said team appreciated Murray taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to them and added that his inspiring words would boost their confidence in the build-up to Le Mans. The 3 Legs Racing project has helped team members to build self-confidence, develop life skills and taught them to work as part of a team. Eight of the nine team members will drive during the Le Mans race. Will Griffin will run the team’s pit area and keep the drivers on the circuit up to date with race timings. The 3 Legs Racing team has received generous support from a number of Island organisations, including Isle of Man Karting Association which has have provided training without which the trip wouldn’t be possible. Donations have been received from Collins Stewart Wealth Management, Arland Ussher Charitable Trust, and Robert Hamilton Charitable Trust. The team is also being supported by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company which has provided reduced price ferry crossings for all three off-Island races. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1UvTh-AjI0 - ENDS -