ABOUT SANDRO
Unleash what you 'CAN' do
Sandro Ballesteros (Sandro#19) is a teenage racing driver from Rochdale Lancashire. Diagnosed with autism aged three his lifelong obsession led him to try karting aged just five years old. Starting indoors at Daytona Manchester, he moved to outdoor kart racing a year later hiring a bambino kart for his first ever race. He crossed the line his first final in 6th place from a grid of sixteen on a damp track and was awarded driver of the day. He then went on to complete that season in his first kart and went on to finish 2nd in his first competetive season.
Age 7
Age 8
Age 11
Age 13
Age 14
The next year aged seven, he went on to win his first championship in dominant fashion taking 12 podium finishes. This triumph coincided with the opening of a new indoor karting venue Teamkarting just 400yds from his home. One of their first customers he quickly became a regular visitor and struck up a relationship with the owners, and the publicity helped to promote their successful launch. This relationship is still going from strength to strength with Sandro calling his mentor and friend Matty Street his 'Big Bro'.
Aged eight and moving up from bambino karts to Honda cadets he enjoyed success at various club championship, and also raced in two Kartmasters Grand Prix held at the prestigious Paul Fletcher International circuit where he also raced in the 200cc Extreme class, racking up four podium finishes. Sandro ended his three years of cadet racing on a tight budget in the very competetive Northern Kart Federation series at different circuits around the country, starting every final in the top ten.
Off track he uses his racing to raise autism awareness with his Able Racing project for which he has received two awards, the Anna Kennedy OBE Autism Hero Award, and the Downforce National Autism Society award. In 2017 he was also recipient of a custom painted helmet from Racing with Autism based in Canada, who he assisted on their UK tour. With his partners at Teamkarting, JPC Community Farm, and Teesside Karting he has been involved with numerous disability friendly, inclusive karting sessions, and has inspired and helped numerous others to get started in karting, many of whom are also on the autism spectrum. Inspired by Austin Riley of Racing with Autism, Sandro has also spoken at primary schools with his own autism presentation
and as a result he was invited to speak at an autism conference with an audience of 120 guests including teachers and professionals.
In karting, he is now racing in Junior Rotax and Junior Prokart classes in both sprint and team endurance racing, and also signed with the X-Kart Team. He has recently raced a 24hr race with the TeamBRIT Racing with autism kart team. He also does simulator racing as a member of the eTeamBRIT esports team, and competed online in the Daytona 24hr as part of Racing with Autism international drivers Austin Riley (Radical), Armani Williams (NASCAR), and TeamBRIT star driver Bobby Trundley.
Sandros' success both on and off the track have lead to numerous appearances in the press, radio and TV interviews, (links can be found here (MEDIA page). Now aged 14 Sandro has just had his first taste of a racecar and is putting his blood, sweat, and gears into his plan to race in a junior championship. You can keep up with Sandro#19's progress here and also on social media via.........Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
HISTORY / BIO
Autism Diagnosis 3yrs old
First drive of a kart Age 5
Daytona Bambino Champs 4th
Bambino Kart Championship 2013
Three Sisters Bambino 2013 2nd
Hooton Park Bambino Champion 2014
Cheshire Kart Racing Club Honda Cadet Champion 2015
Manchester Buxton Kart Club 2015 5th
Kartmasters 2016 2017
TVKC 2016 2017
Assist on Racing with Autism UK Tour 2017
Pfi Honda 200cc Extreme Cadet 2017 4 podiums 1 Win
Anna Kennedy OBE Autism Hero Award 2017
Downforce National Autistic Society Award 2018
Teesside Sprint 2018 2019
Teesside Winter Series 2019 3rd
X-Kart Launch week 2020 Teesside Sprint Round 2nd place
Daytona Milton Keynes 24hr 2020 with TeamBRIT Racing with Autism
iRacing Daytona 24hr with Racing with Autism International
Current Series 2021 Junior Kart Championship Junior Rotax & Prokart
Current Series 2021 British Prokart Endurance Championship
First drive of a racecar BMW116 Trophy Cup
NEXT......Watch the CBBC Documentary My Life; On The Fast Track
To Find out............Also on BBC iPlayer
Unleash what you
'CAN'
do.
THE TEAM
From the very beginning Sandro has mainly been backed by his family, with both his parents 'hands on' the spanners maintaining and setting up his karts to be able to race as much as their budget will allow. With no motorsport background they have struggled with a steep learning curve, they couldn't have done this without advice from many people along the way, and in turn are always there to help others on their journey.
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Sandros' first championship win coincided with the opening of a new indoor karting venue, Teamkarting.co.uk, which happened to be just 400 yards from the family home in Rochdale. He promptly struck up a lasting partnership with the owners and used his publicity to help promote a successful launch.
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That relationship endures today, and continues to go from strength to strength, with Sandro often refering to his friend and mentor Matty Street as his 'Big Bro', and is always willing to get involved in any new projects which may materialise. He now drives for associated team X-Kart, and on the race debut delivered the X-Kart chassis' first UK podium on the week of its launch.
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“It's great to be a part of a team, with the support of your teammates and the staff.. I also enjoy helping the younger drivers to reach their own goals.”
