F1 driver launches 'baby races' for charity

Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia, the BMW Williams FI Team racing driver, is looking forward to racing in his homeland in the next Grand Prix in two weeks' time.

"The home race is always special for any driver... I really like the circuit, Interlagos, and the crowd is just crazy there, so it's going to be nice and, hopefully, we can have a good result."

That would be most welcome, following last week's unsuccessful race in Belgium, where he replaced injured Nick Heidfeld but slammed into Juan Pablo Montoya and was fined and blamed for the outcome.

"It was a weekend to forget," he said, explaining the technicalities. "It was going well until the crash, unfortunately, destroyed the race for me and for Montoya too."

The 25-year-old was in Malta yesterday on a flying visit - less than 24 hours - to promote the launch by BMW Group, in conjunction with Muscats Motors Ltd, of a fund-raising event in aid of the Ursuline Sisters of St Rita Home, Tarxien.

Mr Pizzonia signed photographs and T-shirts for queues of fans, who enthusiastically waited in line for the driver's autograph at the Muscat Motors BMW showroom. He posed for photographs with F1 aficionados, particularly members of Malta's BMW Williams Club.

Although he received celebrity treatment from his many fans yesterday, Mr Pizzonia said he just drives racing cars because he loves it and not because he wants to be famous, or anything like that. "I just do what I love to do!"

Does he ever experience fear driving racing cars? "A little bit. I think the fear is always there, otherwise there are no limits. To find your limit, you need to find your fear first. It is always there, but you have to overcome it and, sometimes, you have to know where to draw the line and not to surpass it. There is always an element of control. Of course, there are tracks that are more dangerous than others and the fear comes a bit earlier than normal," he admits.

Mr Pizzonia started racing when he was 10 and, by the time he was 15, he had won the Brazilian national title.

Asked about his involvement in charity events, Mr Pizzonia showed his appreciation for the opportunity to help children, acknowledging the importance for people like himself of helping others in need.

"We do what we can do. I heard about this only on Sunday. I heard that Nick (Heidfeld) could not make it, so I volunteered to do it myself and I am more than happy to be here to help. Hopefully, we can achieve good results from this too."

The BMW Kids 4 Kids charity event is aimed at raising funds for the improvements carried out at the home of the Ursuline Sisters, which has undergone total refurbishment, half of which has been demolished and reconstructed over the past two years.

The idea was to upgrade the home, which requires specialised therapy equipment, to provide for a host of important therapeutic facilities.

The works were in the final stages but Sr Magdalene Cauchi, a resident social worker, said the home now owed about Lm10,000, and she hoped the BMW charity event would help raise the funds.

The St Rita Home can cater for about 20 residents, aged between three and 18 years, but exceptions are made and a two-year-old is being admitted in the coming days. At the moment it provides a home for 15 children - kids of drug addicts, prisoners, mental patients and separated parents - who have major behavioural problems and require specialised and individual attention, Sr Magdalene explained.

The funds are also necessary for the day-to-day running of the home and, in the long term, for the payment of carers and therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists and counsellors, whose services are required to help the children overcome their severe difficulties.

The aim of the event is also to raise awareness on the sterling work of the Ursuline Sisters in the community; to attract corporate sponsors and the public to make donations and to encourage children to help others less fortunate than themselves by participating in a fun activity, Muscats Motors managing director Kenneth Mizzi said.

BMW Kids 4 Kids is a series of four events in the form of races for which BMW Group Malta and Muscats Motors Ltd have manufactured a customised, inflatable racetrack for children between two and four years old on which to compete with BMW Baby Racer F1 push cars.

The first event is being held on Sunday along the Sliema promenade between 3 and 7 p.m.; the second, today week at Marsacala between 3 and 7 p.m.; the third, on September 24 opposite the law courts in Valletta between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and, finally, on October 2 in front of the Luxe Pavillion in Portomaso between 3 and 7 p.m.

The overall winner of the series wins a BMW Baby Racer F1 push car, signed by the 2005 BMW Williams F1 Team race drivers, and the child's family gets to visit a BMW factory in Munich.

Registration for the charity races can be done by calling 2316 2000, or at the locations prior to the events, where donations in aid of the home are welcome.

Donations can also be made to Appeal Bank account no. 40014582532 and via Go Mobile SMS to 50618065 for Lm2 and 50619204 for Lm5. A website has been set up to auction a BMW Baby Racer F1 push car and other surprises - www.BMW.com.mt - and should be up and running by Sunday.