F1: Webber leads van der Drift fundraising effort

F1 title contender Mark Webber is leading a fundraising drive for injured Superleague Formula star Chris van der Drift.

New Zealander van der Drift suffered multiple injuries in a terrifying shunt at last month's Superleague Formula round at Brands Hatch. The Olympiacos driver ran in to the back of Julien Jousse's AS Roma machine and was launched in to the air, his car making contact with an advertising hoarding before splitting in half as it slid down the track.

The Kiwi suffered a broken ankle, cracked ribs and broken fingers in the accident, and now needs to fund specialist treatment for his injuries in a bid to return to the cockpit.

To help his cause a two-hour endurance kart race will take place on Tuesday September 7th at the Daytona karting venue in Milton Keynes. The fundraising event will see a host of drivers- including Hispania's Karun Chandhok and Lotus test driver Fairuz Fauzy- competing to raise funds for van der Drift.

Members of the public will be able to bid to join some drivers as a teammate, with spots alongside Formula Renault 3.5 star Daniel Ricciardo, British Formula 3 champion Jean-Eric Vergne and F3 Euroseries frontrunner Alexander Sims all up for grabs.

“It’s really humbling to see so many good friends from within the industry support me through this difficult period,” said van der Drift. “I am really looking forward to the kart fundraiser. I am sure it will be a fantastic event and I really cannot thank everyone enough for their efforts.”

The event will also feature a number of professional race simulators, allowing attendees to test their skills against real racing drivers. The Milton Keynes event will be open to a limited crowd of the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at a cost of £10 per person. Each of the successful auction winners will be given three free spectator tickets to the event.

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James Weeks

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