Media Release: Peugeot Sport Stars Reunite For Brabham’s Celebrity Karting Challenge
London UK – Tuesday 8 December, 2009; David Brabham will be reunited with his Le Mans 24 Hours winning teammate Alex Wurz and fellow Peugeot Sport stars Franck Montagny and Nicolas Minassian as they join the Celebrity Karting Challenge primarily in aid of Malaria No More UK at Autosport International, on Friday 15 January.
In June 2009, Team Peugeot Total ended Audi’s domination of the historic Le Mans 24 Hours race when David Brabham, Alex Wurz and Mark Gene took victory in the #9 Peugeot HDi-FAP. Wurz, Montagny and Minassian, will unite in battle once again at the NEC Birmingham in January, in support of Brabham’s Celebrity Karting Challenge. Nicolas Minassian commented: “It’s an honour to support such a charity event. David works very hard to put this event in place each year at the Autosport International Show. It’s a pleasure to take part in it with my Peugeot Sport teammates.” Brabham added: “It’s amazing to have the support of Peugeot Sport and to have the chance to once again race alongside Alex, Franck and Nic, in the Celebrity Karting Challenge. It means a lot to have their backing and this event wouldn’t be possible without all of the drivers and celebrities giving up their free time in aid of Malaria No More UK.” The only event that sees the motorsport elite join forces on the kart track to raise money for charity, raising £92,000 in the last two years alone, offers members of the public the rare chance to race alongside their heroes from across the racing spectrum. With the Peugeot Sport stars confirmed, the 2010 Celebrity Karting Challenge will host some of the best sportscar drivers on the planet. Derek Bell, who leads the event as Race Director, will be joined by Audi Sport drivers Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Emanuele Pirro, Le Mans winner Guy Smith, and fellow Le Mans competitors Marino Franchitti, Johnny Mowlem, Paul Drayson, Johnny Cocker and Rob Bell. An all-star line-up of celebrities will be battling against the sportscar heavyweights in the 90 minutes endurance kart race, hosted on a specially constructed kart circuit for the first time in the Autosport International Live Action Arena. Ted Kravitz will be swapping his BBC F1 Pit Lane Reporter microphone for a kart seat alongside his BBC F1 colleagues, British Formula One test driver and BBC Radio 5 Live commentator Anthony Davidson, and BBC F1 Five Live Producer Jason Swales. F1 hopeful and DTM ace Paul di Resta and former McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award winner Oliver Turvey are also confirmed alongside 2009 Mazda Star Champion Adam Christodoulou, Autosport Club Driver of the Year and BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year nominee Sarah Moore, Louise Goodman, Amanda Stretton, Katherine Legge and Linda Playfair. The rally contingent will be led by triple British Rally Champion, Mark Higgins, who was also the stunt driver for the James Bond film ‘Quantum of Solace’, and 2009 British Rally Champion Keith Cronin. “This event is already starting to live up to its potential of being the best Celebrity Karting Challenge to date,” said Brabham. “With this fantastic line-up, the race promises to deliver a great battle between some of the sport’s best drivers guaranteed to have the grandstand crowd on the edge of their seats.” For a full list of celebrities taking part visit www.racing4charity.com The Celebrity Karting Challenge 2010 will be held primarily in aid of Malaria No More UK, of which Brabham recently became a Special Ambassador. Malaria is an entirely preventable and treatable disease but it still kills close to one million people every year and a child in Africa every 30 seconds. It costs just £5 to buy and deliver a life saving bed net to a family in Africa. Each net will protect a mother and her child for up to five years. 100% of all funds raised for Malaria No More UK will be used to fund life saving malaria control programmes in Africa, in countries such as Ghana where the entire population is at risk of malaria. Members of the public can join the Celebrity Karting Challenge and support Malaria No More UK’s outstanding work for just £300. The charity entrance fee also includes two tickets to Autosport International, on what is an exclusive trade day. Book your public place now by contacting Bill Williams at bill@racing4charity.com or call 0044 (0)7712 578263. Autosport International trade visitors can take a grandstand seat and watch the Celebrity Karting Challenge action at 3pm on Friday 15 January as a complimentary addition to their standard trade ticket. Trade tickets cost £24 per person, simply register via www.autosport-international.com/trade. MSA licence holders can also attend Autosport International on both trade days, 14&15 January, as well as the public days, on 16&17 January. Simply register by visiting www.autosport-international.com/trade. -Ends- Please click on the thumbnails below to download images, provided courtesy of Peugeot Sport. Notes to media: For further information on David Brabham, including his career history and biography, visit www.davidbrabham.com. To find out more about David’s Racing4Charity organisation and the Celebrity Karting Challenge 2010 visit www.racing4charity.com or www.autosport-show.com About Malaria No More UK Malaria No More UK launched in April 2009 fronted by David Beckham, Andy Murray and Denise Lewis, founding members of the charity's Leadership Council. Special Ambassadors for Malaria No More UK are exceptional people who choose to use their talent and/or experience to fight malaria. British mother Jo Yirrell, is also a Special Ambassador for the charity. Jo lost her 20 year old son Harry to malaria and she has since launched a high profile campaign to draw attention to the issue of malaria publically and politically. Malaria No More UK is committed to ending suffering and death caused by malaria, a preventable disease. The charity works with governments, corporations, celebrities and the public to raise mass awareness and funds to achieve the following UN goals: 1) Ensure every man, women and child at risk of malaria in Africa has access to a mosquito net by the end of 2010 2) Put an end to malaria deaths by 2015 A £5 donation to Malaria No More UK will purchase, transport and deliver a life saving bed net to a mother and her child in Africa protecting them for up to five years. 100% funds received by Malaria No More UK are used for malaria prevention and control programmes in Africa. For more information and to donate visit: www.malarianomore.org.uk David Brabham Celebrity Karting Challenge Media Contact: Emma Spearing, Hazel PR Tel: +44 (0)1202 862411 Mobile: +44 (0)7736 341828 Email: emma.spearing@hazelpr.com
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