Ex-F1 ace Nigel Mansell in Shropshire on charity ride

Monday 26th July 2010, 11:59AM BST.

Nigel Mansell, third from left, and team in Shropshire

It was a family affair as motor racing ace Nigel Mansell sped through Shropshire on two wheels with his sons in tow.

The 1992 Formula One world champion swopped four wheels for two as he passed through Bridgnorth, Telford and Whitchurch as part of a £1 million charity cycle challenge.

Together with sons Leo and Greg, Nigel, 56, is attempting to cover 1,200 miles in 13 days to raise funds for charity UK Youth, which supports young people and projects nationwide.

He said: “This is UK Youth’s centenary year and I want to do something really challenging to mark it. We are one of the largest youth charities in the UK and every day we challenge young people to do all sorts of new and exciting things – so I want to do something demanding as well. Leo, Greg and I only started training in February so we’ve got a lot of hard work to put in.”

Money raised from the challenge will support projects touching the lives of 750,000 people around the UK.

Nigel is president of the charity and is doing the challenge to highlight its Positive About Youth campaign.

Today the star and his peloton were due to negotiate their way from Chester to Blackpool.

To lend support to Nigel visit the website www.just giving.com/nigel-mansell-cycle-challenge