33 teams Race for Ukraine at Daytona Milton Keynes

Friday, 9 June 2023 15:27

Daytona Milton Keynes hosted 33 teams of racers yesterday for a beautifully sunny day of endurance kart racing to raise money for the people of Ukraine devasted by the ongoing war.

All profits from the race, and money raised in a spectacular auction full of unique prizes will be donated to Siobhan’s Trust, a charity feeding Ukranian families and troops on the front line.

The special one-day event was attended by many high-profile competitors and spectators, as well as Daytona regulars, who all came together for this noble cause.

Notable participants included rising star Oleksandr ‘Sacha’ Bondarev, a Ukranian national and European FIA karting champion, who flew over especially. He was teamed up with 2012 F2 world champion Luciano Bacheta, former British GT3 and GT4 champion Rick Parfitt Junior, multiple race winner and stuntman Wade Eastwood, and Daytona’s very own CEO Charles Graham. The team named themselves ‘Zelenskyy’ and were crowned champions on the day.

There was also a team of local Buckinghamshire MPs, consisting of Ben Everitt, Iain Stewart, Greg Smith and their associates, who took the race seriously and came together to make a difference.

Team BRIT, the UK’s first disabled professional racing team, also raced for Ukraine and were captained by Daytona alumnus Bobby Trundley.

The event was organised in partnership with James Tucker, an esteemed name in racing and a key figure in the Britcar 24 Hour, who now dedicates his time raising money for Siobhan’s Trust.

Siobhan’s Trust feed close to 10,000 Ukrainian people living in war-stricken areas every single day and the money raised at this race will contribute directly to feeding people on the front line.

“What an oustanding event. In all my years of motorsport events, including the many Formula One races I’ve attended, that was without a doubt right up there in terms organisation and atmosphere. What a credit to the Daytona team, and to everybody that attended in making it such a memorable day.” Tucker commented.

A spokesperson for Daytona added: "Daytona would like to firstly thank all event attendees, many of whom travelled a great distance to come to the event and showed such generosity in helping us reach our fundraising target. We’d also like to extend gratitude towards the people and organisations that donated incredible prizes to our auction, including the British Racing Drivers’ Club who donated two tickets to the British Grand Prix, TeamSport, who donated racing for a large group of people, Prodrive, who donated two fantastic prizes, and Sam Ryder, who donated a meet & greet at an upcoming show.

"The Auction alone raised £4,500 towards Siobhan’s Trust.

"We would also like to thank MKFM, who supported and attended the race and provided media coverage throughout."

Daytona's next charity event is at Daytona Sandown Park, for the tenth annual Damon Hill Festival of Karting, raising money for the halow project.