MOTOR racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart has said the establishment has “failed” to find a treatment for dementia and that he has now turned his hopes to youth to find a cure.
Stewart’s wife, Lady Helen Stewart, was diagnosed with the disease in 2014.
He is enthusiastic about the work being done by PhD students sponsored by his charity.
Stewart said: “For 50 years, there has been no cure for dementia. Now I want to change that in my lifetime if possible, and that’s asking a lot.
“We think that it’s youth that’s going to do it because the establishment have failed.
“So, it’s got to be young people who are going to look at it in a different way, a different angle and find a cure and with the support that we have, financially, we can spend more money on getting equipment that previously has been unavailable.”
The three-time Formula 1 world champion is currently in Scotland for the Sir Jackie Stewart Classic which is taking place at Thirlestane Castle in Lauder on June 18-19.
The event will raise money for the Scot’s charity Race Against Dementia, which was first set up in 2018.
Stewart added: “I’ve got my Formula One car, the Matra was a French car and then two Ford cars that are there as well.
“They’re on display. It’s looking very good. The weather apparently is going to be nice as well which is always the case in Scotland anyway.”
He will be joined by his wife, who he has been married to for 60 years and who acted as his timekeeper when he was racing professionally.
Stewart added: “It’s a challenge, but then I’m used to challenges. I have been challenging all my life.
“I wouldn’t have thought I was going to win the world championship when I started in motorsport but I did win the world championship three times.”
He keeps a close eye over any of the latest developments surrounding treatments for the disease.
“The latest statistic says that for everyone born today, one in three people will have dementia and there is no cure.
“The brain is by far the most complicated piece of kit in the world. So, I understand that it’s no easy trick.
“But who was it that said there are no problems there are only solutions.”
