02/09/2008
NEWS STORY
Think of the McLaren Technology Centre and you invariably imagine the home of the world famous Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team, the assembly line for the state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and the workplace of some of the most cutting-edge technical brains in the country.
But it's a great spot to go fishing too...
That's what young Liam Fairhurst will be doing today, Tuesday 2nd September, when he spends an hour fishing the facility's famous semi-circular lake.
Where's the, um, catch, you might ask? Well, Liam isn't an experienced angler. In fact, he has never fished before in his life. So why is he casting his line into the lake of the McLaren Technology Centre?
It all stems from a visit the 13-year-old made to the Woking facility in July, when he spent the day touring the premises and viewing the illustrious line-up of world championship-winning machinery. The visit to McLaren was the culmination of a long-held dream for the ardent Formula 1 fan, who has also been raising money for the children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent in memory of his friend, Jack Wilkinson, who died of the disease. Over the past 20 months, he has raised in excess of £250,000 - a remarkable achievement for anyone, not least Liam who has been fighting his own battle with cancer for the past three years.
During his visit, Liam even got to meet McLaren Group Chairman and CEO Ron Dennis who couldn't resist Liam's competitive fundraising streak and promptly challenged Liam to fish the lake - the first person to be granted such a rare opportunity. He also offered to spice up the event by matching Liam's efforts with a corresponding donation to charity.
Like anything in Formula 1, the rules and rewards were strictly defined: "Liam has one hour to catch as many fish as he can," explained Dennis. "But only he is permitted to handle the rod and only I can count up the number of fish before they are returned to the lake. Having said that, I'll let him bring an expert angling coach. In return, I have promised Liam £50 for each fish he catches."
With the challenge set and with the help of expert angler Martin Locke, Liam is looking to raise as much money as he can for CLIC Sargent - but he needs your help.
"If people sponsor me just £1 it will help make a difference," he said. "CLIC Sargent has been there for my family throughout my treatment. I want to give something back so that they can help other families like mine."