Jenson Button to inspire youngsters (From Yeovil Express)

Jenson Button to inspire youngsters

9:00pm Monday 19th October 2009

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NEW Formula One world champion Jenson Button will inspire young people to become champions in business, says inward investment body Into Somerset.

As a boy, Jenson told Frome Middle School pupils that one day he would be Formula One champion and his single-minded determination to get to the top is a great example to young entrepreneurs, says acting chief executive Rupert Cox.

“Jenson’s sporting achievement inspires Somerset’s young people, who are the business managers and innovators of tomorrow, and illustrates the county’s engineering and motorsport prowess," he said.

“As well as the world’s fastest racing driver, Somerset is home to the world’s fastest accelerating production car, the Ariel Atom. How’s that for world-class innovation and invention?”

Jenson, who secured his F1 championship victory after finishing fifth place in the Brazilian Grand Prix, is among 15 Somerset drivers who hold international motorsport licences, more than any other English rural county.

Motorsport expert Roger Phillips, of the Somerset-based Action Resources motorsport website, added: “Jenson’s victory and the county's other successes on the global motor-racing stage reflect how sport, leading-edge technology and great educational facilities combine together for economic success."

Into Somerset, which promotes the county as the place where you and your business can grow, has identified the advanced engineering and aerospace industry as a key sector for inward investment.

Jenson Button, who was born in Frome and attended Selwood Middle School and Frome Community College, says the F1 victory has been the fulfilment of a boyhood dream.

The Ariel Atom, which reaches 0-60mph in just 2.7 seconds, is described by Top Gear guru Jeremy Clarkson as ‘motoring nirvana’.

It is produced in Crewkerne, Somerset, by Ariel Motor Company.

Director Simon Saunders said: “I can’t think of a better place to be. We make a product that is unaffected by geographic location. We are here because we want to be.”

Into Somerset is funded by the local authorities and brings together the public and private sector to promote Somerset as a thriving business destination.

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