Photo: Mark Webber, Chris van der Drift, Karun Chandhok and Fairuz FauzyThe MIS and Gullwing karting challenge drew hundreds of motorsport stars and fans to Daytona Milton Keynes on Tuesday night, as the event kicked off a full fundraising campaign to get injured Superleague driver Chris van der Drift back on his feet.
Mark Webber waved off a competitive field of 31 teams including professional drivers from F1, GP2, F3, Formula Renault, rallying and touring cars. After two hours of racing it was the Palmersport One team of Bradley Philpot, Oli Brown and Karl Hackston that took an impressive victory.
The event was organised to raise money for van der Drift, who was left without personal accident insurance to cover his rehabilitation following a horrifying crash at Brands Hatch. It also aimed to raise awareness of the importance of safety and insurance throughout the motorsport community.
Van der Drift said: “It was absolutely amazing to see the turnout we had, both in volume and quality of drivers. The place was rammed and the karting was extremely competitive. It was fun to watch – even though I would have much preferred being out there on the track!
“I really appreciate the support that everyone has given me since the crash, and I am glad to report I am recovering well. But the most important lesson I hope this can give to anyone racing is that you must check, double check and triple check that you are fully insured whatever category you are competing in.”
F1 racers Karun Chandhok and Fairuz Fauzy both entered teams, but Hispania driver Chandhok’s ‘KC and the sunshine band’ finished in 15th place and Lotus tester Fauzy’s team came in 19th. GP2 title contender Sergio Perez, however, helped steer his ‘Oxfordshires’ team to second place.
Daniel van der drift, Chris’ brother, finished an impressive fifth after driving the entire endurance event on his own. The winners of an eBay auction for places on the grid, meanwhile, finished 10th and 23rd while the team run by sponsors Motorsport Industry Services finished second last.
The event also helped van der Drift collect items for his next fundraising effort – an ebay auction of authentic motorsport memorabilia (ebay User ID: Kart_Race_Auction). More than 20 items are open for offer including a signed Mark Webber photo, a rare image of James Hunt from the 1970s – and the damaged rear wing endplate from van der Drift’s crashed Superleague car.
