Noel gears up for laps on his mobility scooter

His quirky fundraising initiative – Motor Sport for MS – came to the attention of Colin Creasy of UkieToones, via Noel’s old Radcliffe School chum Philip Dyer, who plays with the group.

They recorded the theme tune for the venture – Born to be Wild - and are holding a dual launch on Saturday, March 11, at The Cannon in Newport Pagnell.

Noel will reveal plans for his 2017 season while UkieToones will perform Born to be Wild, the title track on their new LP, which will be on sale with all proceeds going to the charity.

Former motorsport instructor Noel was finally diagnosed with MS in 2013, although he believes he can trace his symptoms back to 1992.

“But being a bloke, I put my head in the sand,” he admits. “They also found a tumour in my spine.”

When he came round from surgery, he was completely paralysed. “So I taught myself to walk again,” he says simply. Now MS is robbing him of even that ability.

The idea for Motor Sport for MS came to him at 2am on New Year’s Eve 2016 and he did his first 10 laps at Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

“It’s a pretty daft idea but it had never been done before,” he reasons.

And he’s hoping he and his mobility scooter will raise £20,000, before the condition gets too firm a grip. Of that 80 percent will go to the MS Society for research with the remaining 20 percent earmarked for the Milton Keynes MS group.

Noel’s in constant pain but has accepted an invitation to go round the TT course on the Isle of Man at Easter.

He estimates it will take him four and a half hours and smiles: “I’m starting at 5am for health and safety reasons.”

He’s facing an uncertain future with courage and humour. And taking on the Motor Sport for MS challenge is keeping him focused and positive.

> www.motorsportforMS.co.uk