What is Racing 4 Charity
Racing 4 Charity is an organisation of volunteers which runs unique events within the motorsport industry to raise money for a variety of UK charities.
Founded by sportscar legend and ex-F1 driver David Brabham and Bill Williams, who leads Racing 4 Charity outside his job as a police officer, this special partnership has raised over £300,000 for numerous worthy causes over the past 15 years.
It all began in 1994 when Bill, already chairman of a registered charity, Merrydale League of Friends which had raised £25,000 to buy and build a special playground, met David and discussed the idea of what they could do to raise money. Together they hatched the idea of a kart race, which took place at Thruxton that October.
Under the banner of Rainbow Auctions, racing auctions were organised at Autosport International, the world’s number one racing car show. Within four years David and Bill had raised £50,000 for charities such as CLIC Sargent, Bliss, NARA and Cancer Research.
In 2002, Racing 4 Charity was established and staged special dinner parties at Brands Hatch, supported by racing greats such as Damon Hill, Sir Jack Brabham, David Brabham and Martin Donnelly. Although the first celebrity kart races were initially held in Hampshire, the success of the auctions encouraged them to move the Celebrity Kart Challenge to Autosport International in 2007.
Attracting more than 84,000 visitors, including 28,000 trade buyers, 850 exhibitors and 1,000 media representatives from around the globe, the world’s biggest motorsport show provides the perfect fundraising platform. This allowed Racing 4 Charity to top the quarter of a million fundraising mark in 2008 and has succeeded in helping over 15 UK charities.
Annual Event - Celebrity Karting Challenge
Racing 4 Charity’s flagship event, the Celebrity Karting Challenge, is staged annually as part of Autosport International at the NEC Birmingham each January.
The only event of its kind, the Celebrity Karting Challenge is the only motorsport event in the UK where you will find members of the public battling wheel-to-wheel with ex-F1 and sportscar stars. These include drivers such as David Brabham, Emanuele Pirro, Johnny Herbert, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Darren Turner and a host of other drivers from across worldwide motorsport. And it’s all for a good cause.
In 2008 and 2009, together with charity auctions held on the public days of Autosport International, the event raised a staggering £92,000 for a variety of charities.
