Dan Wheldon Memorial Karting Event - Daytona Milton Keynes - Monday December 5th 2011

[Paulaweybridge]

Hi everyone,

Johnny Herbert Karting Challenge organiser Roy Craig has just contacted me to let us know that he is helping Johnny Mowlem with an event in Dan's memory at Daytona Milton Keynes on Monday 5th December at 6.00 pm

The 2 hour Enduro will consist of teams comprising 4 drivers at £250 per head.

If anyone on here would like a team or you know of anyone who would like to compete, then please pm me and I will give you Roy's contact details and he can tell you more about it.

Many thanks

Paula

[Paulaweybridge]

Hi everyone,

Roy Craig has contacted me with the final, approved and only official announcement concerning the Dan Wheldon Memorial Kart Race.

Here it is:

Media Release: Dan Wheldon Memorial Kart Race

London, UK – Monday, November 7, 2011

Dan Wheldon will be honoured in a special memorial kart endurance event on Monday 5 December at Daytona Milton Keynes.

Appropriately staged just 10 miles away from Dan’s hometown of Emberton, Buckinghamshire, the event will see drivers from across the realms of worldwide motorsport join together to remember their close friend and colleague.

Members of the public will also be able to honour Dan, who lost his life in the final round of the IZOD IndyCar Series at Las Vegas last month, in the hope of raising funds for the Wheldon family’s nominated charity the Alzheimer’s Society.

Race organiser Johnny Mowlem, a long-time personal friend and successful sportscar racer, commented: “I just wanted to put together an event to honour Dan. Aside from raising funds for one of the family’s chosen charities, I wanted to bring together people who knew and raced with Dan, to have some fun in his honour and give him a send off he would have been proud of.

“The event has the full support of Dan’s family and his dad and brothers will be taking part to share in the evening. I hope members of the public will also appreciate the opportunity to take part and remember one of Britain’s most successful and charismatic champions.”

Mowlem has already enlisted the support of 2009 FIA Formula One World Champion Jenson Button, reigning IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti, F1 and sportscar star Anthony Davidson, Le Mans winner Guy Smith and World Touring Car Championship title contender Rob Huff, while he hopes to attract a full grid of drivers who knew or raced alongside the double Indy 500 winner and IndyCar champion.

Between 25 and 30 teams of four people each including a professional driver and three members of the public will take part in the two hour endurance race aboard DMAX 125cc two-stroke water-cooled karts.

Public places, available at just £175 (inclusive of VAT), can be booked by calling 0845 644 5503 or email dwmkr@daytona.co.uk while professional drivers will also make a charity donation.

Starting at 6pm, drivers’ briefing will take place at 6.30pm with practice at 7pm preceding the race start at 7.40pm. The evening will conclude with an awards presentation at 9.50pm.


Find the Dan Wheldon Memorial Kart Race page on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=299805896714630


Media Contacts:

Emma Spearing, Hazel PR:

Mobile: +44 (0)7736 341828 | Email: emma.spearing@hazelpr.com


Cathy Metcalfe, MPR Associates:

Mobile: +44 (0)7802 332398 | cathy.metcalfe@btinternet.com

[Paulaweybridge]

Remembering Dan:

Dan Wheldon was a winner. In the past 11 years Dan became a champion on the track and a devoted family man off it. He loved the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was immensely proud to have his name etched twice on the Borg Warner trophy alongside some of the Indy 500 greats.

He touched so many people in racing and around the world with his warm smile, his charming personality and his genuine good nature. Dan loved his fans and always took that extra bit of time to take a photo, to sign an autograph, to make some young kid smile at the racetrack. Everyone wanted to be around Dan. His passion and his enthusiasm for life was infectious. We will all miss him...

A true champion of motorsport...
A proud brother to Austen, Ashley, Elliott and Holly...
A devoted son to Clive and Sue...
A loving husband to Susie...
A doting father to his boys, Sebastian and Oliver...
And our friend...

Rest in peace Dan...your memory will live with us forever.

[ECW Dan Selby]

I'd love to do this but I won't be able to find anyone else to join me as a team

Unless we want to do a ten-tenths team...?!

Dan

[Peat]

Sounds like an idea. Or, you could probably apply as a solo and be placed with other's looking for teams?

I might be keen for this.

[Paulaweybridge]

If I wasn't still nursing 2nd Degree Burns to my right hand, right foot & ankle, I would have been up for it as I recaught the karting bug at last year's Johnny Herbert Karting Challenge. For various reasons the general public are not allowed in but I am sure that the event will be a great success and a wonderful tribute to a remarkable man.

Dan a "Ten-Tenths Team" is a great idea - Go for it guys

[Speedblood]

I've sent an email confirming my interest and hopefully a place. After a day at work on Monday the 5th it'll be 5 mins over the road for me

[ECW Dan Selby]

I'll have to miss a day's work, but hey, it's a charity event...

Would anyone be keen to set up a ten-tenths team then maybe? Should I do a seperate post?

Selby

[ghinzani]

no need for a seperate one Dan, keep it in here, if it gets complex il seperate them out.

[ECW Dan Selby]

Sounds good!

Dan

[ECW Dan Selby]

Sounds good!

Dan

[Paulaweybridge]

Hi folks,

Apparently there has been an unprecedented outpouring of support from the motorsport industry and general public, and a staggering number of professional drivers who have already pledged their support.

The event is already oversubscribed on public places and the organisers are currently considering all of the team applications. They hope to be able to confirm the teams in the next week or so.

Watch this space.

Nite

Paula

[ghinzani]

Im not surprised, I see with JB taking part now it will be uber over subscribed!

[Speedblood]

Originally Posted by ghinzani

Im not surprised, I see with JB taking part now it will be uber over subscribed!

Indeed, I applied on the same day it opened but looks like I was even then a couple of hours too late! I'm on the reserve list (which I guess is not a short list by any means.)

[kart_racer]

I really wanted to do this, but have a big bash in London that night. Shame

[Paulaweybridge]

Update

Cathy Metcalfe of MPR Associates e-mailed me today:

As well as the race being oversubscribed, we have been inundated with spectator requests. Drivers who have secured a place in the race may bring one guest, at a charity donation of £20 each for the Alzeimer's Society, payable on the night.

Guests do not need to pre-register but must arrive with the registered driver.

Unfortunately the venue's limited capacity does not allow us to accommodate all requests from those wishing to attend in honour of Dan. I appreciate everyone's understanding on this.

[Insect]

It is a shame that the 'ordinary' members of the Public will not get the opportunity to be part of this Memorial Event, I suspected as much as the track is not really geared for spectator viewing. Pity that in the 'motor racing corridor' an Event could not be arranged so that more of 'us' can take part, bearing in mind the amount of time and mileage many 'fans' put in to follow their chosen motor sport.

[Paulaweybridge]

It is a shame but Daytona Milton Keynes like many kart circuits has very limited public viewing and I bet that the place will be overcrowded anyway.

For the track staff and race officials, a nightmare !!!

I cannot go despite my thread on here because I don't know any of the drivers....

Originally Posted by Insect

It is a shame that the 'ordinary' members of the Public will not get the opportunity to be part of this Memorial Event, I suspected as much as the track is not really geared for spectator viewing. Pity that in the 'motor racing corridor' an Event could not be arranged so that more of 'us' can take part, bearing in mind the amount of time and mileage many 'fans' put in to follow their chosen motor sport.

[Paulaweybridge]

Hi everyone,

I hope that Grant does not mind me posting this up in such a hurry as I gather that last night's event went off very well.

If you click on the link just below you can see the group photograph.

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/o...1323167695.jpg



DAYTONA MILTON KEYNES HOSTS INAUGURAL

DAN WHELDON MEMORIAL EVENT

• Jenson Button, David Coulthard, Martin Brundle and Dario Franchitti take time out to remember their friend Dan Wheldon

F1 star Jenson Button and newly crowned IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti were among a host of top racing drivers all competing in a very special two-hour endurance kart race staged at Daytona Milton Keynes last night (5 December) to commemorate the life and many achievements of their friend Dan Wheldon.

Daytona Milton Keynes kart track was the perfect venue to honor the much loved and admired Wheldon, the double Indianapolis 500 winner and former IndyCar Champion who tragically lost his life in the final round of this year’s IZOD IndyCar Series at Las Vegas in October.

Friend and event organiser Johnny Mowlem chose the Daytona Milton Keynes venue, located just 10 minutes away from Dan’s hometown of Emberton, as this first class outdoor kart facility was the perfect place to accommodate the high number of friends and fund-raisers all wanting to give Dan the best possible ‘send-off’.

Due to the unprecedented support for the Dan Wheldon Memorial Kart Race, the grid at Daytona Milton Keynes was stretched to its maximum with 36 teams of four drivers taking part. Each team was headed up by a professional driver representing every echelon of worldwide motorsport: F1, F2, F3, Le Mans, ALMS, BTCC, GP2, GT, World Touring Cars, Sportscar and IndyCar – all paying tribute to their friend and raising more than £17,000 for the Wheldon family’s chosen charity, the Alzheimer’s Society. The total surpassed expectations and is testament to the heart-felt support for the family of one of Britain’s best loved racing drivers.

After a heart-warming welcome from Mowlem, the drivers took to the track for the two-hour endurance race in Daytona Motorsport’s fleet of superb Vodafone DMAX karts – the fastest hire karts currently available in the UK. The super-quick 125cc, twin-engine race karts were the perfect machines for the highly competitive professional drivers. Most of the pro racers taking part started their careers racing karts and many are still regulars at Daytona venues across the UK in their spare time.

Mowlem said: “The overwhelming response for Dan’s Memorial Kart Race was truly moving; it has been a fantastic evening. The event sold out within just a few hours and the management and staff at Daytona Milton Keynes have done a brilliant job to accommodate such a huge gathering – I can’t thank them enough for their support.”

Jim Graham, Daytona Motorsport’s Marketing Director, said: “We’re obviously delighted to be chosen to host such an important and memorable event. It’s great to see so many of motorsport’s elite here enjoying themselves while raising money for an extremely worthwhile cause and remembering a friend and colleague.”

The evening brought together an unprecedented gathering of the world’s finest racing talent (see full line-up below) as well as members of the Wheldon family. The event concluded with Dan’s father Clive Wheldon thanking all the teams and drivers for taking part in this poignant event. “Dan would have been very proud,” he said. Clive then hinted at plans to make the Dan Wheldon Memorial Kart Race a permanent annual fixture in future motor sport calendars.

Pro Drivers taking part:

Jenson Button
Dario Franchitti
Anthony Davidson
David Coulthard
Guy Smith
Jonny Kane
Rob Huff
James Hinchcliffe
Johnny Herbert
Marino Franchitti
Martin Brundle
Alex Brundle
Mike Conway
Derek Hayes
Adam Carroll
Chris Buncombe
Richard Dean
Steven Kane
Sam Hancock
Luke Hines
Marc Hynes
Nic Minassian
James Rossiter
Peter Dumbreck
Richard Lyons
Sam Bird
Duncan Tappy
James Thompson
Tom Sisley
Ollie Hancock
Danny Watts
Johnny Mowlem

Photograph: Anthony Davidson, Jenson Button and Dario Franchitti join members of the Wheldon family, plus an all-star cast of fellow racing drives and fund-raisers, for the Dan Wheldon Memorial Kart Race at Daytona Milton Keynes.



For more information and high-res imagery, please contact Deborah Tee at MPA Creative, High Barn, High Barn Lane, Effingham, Surrey KT24 5PR.

Tel: 01372 414120

E-Mail: deborah.tee@mpacreative.com

Or visit Daytona Motosport’s website: www.daytona.co.uk

[Paulaweybridge]

Actually that's not true about not knowing any of the drivers because obviously I do from my work and also racing in and supporting the " Johnny Herbert Karting Challenge " in previous years.

But the drivers were very limited to the people they could bring along so naturally close friends/family came first.

Originally Posted by Paulaweybridge

It is a shame but Daytona Milton Keynes like many kart circuits has very limited public viewing and I bet that the place will be overcrowded anyway.

For the track staff and race officials, a nightmare !!!

I cannot go despite my thread on here because I don't know any of the drivers....

[Paulaweybridge]

Some more photos ..

Professional and public drivers joined the Wheldon family to pay tribute to Dan Wheldon, in the Memorial Kart Race on Monday, December 5

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/o...44505144_n.jpg

Dan Wheldon Memorial Kart Race winners Team Button - DW Lionhearts; second place Team Coulthard - DW Bandits joined by Team Franchitti - DW Legends and third place Team Watts completed the finishers podium

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/o...42107549_n.jpg

The winners - Team Button - DW Lionhearts. Jenson Button, Dan’s Dad, Clive Wheldon, and family friends Doug Coleman and Mark Lewis

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/o...41970276_n.jpg

[Paulaweybridge]

Dario Franchitti

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/o...88558017_n.jpg

and R.I.P Dan

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/o...40553648_n.jpg

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/o...38315094_n.jpg

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/o...00891980_n.jpg

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/o...76357980_n.jpg

[Paulaweybridge]

Wonderful video of the event from the Daytona Milton Keynes website:

http://www.daytona.co.uk/news/435-vi...t-daytona.html