Daytona Sandown Park hosted its second annual fundraiser for Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex on Friday 26th June, raising over £12,000 for the lifesaving service.
Held on a warm summer evening at Daytona’s Surrey venue, the event saw 33 teams take to the grid for a two-hour endurance race, but this was no ordinary race. Hosted by Amber Jones, the evening combined competitive karting with a series of charity-driven twists designed to raise vital funds throughout the event.
Before the race had even begun, teams were given the opportunity to bid for pole position. Continuate who would otherwise have qualified towards the rear of the field, seized the chance to start from the front with a generous donation to the charity.
Once the race was underway, strategy took on a charitable edge. Teams were able to purchase a black flag for a rival, sending them into the pit lane in exchange for a £100 donation to KSS. The result was a brilliantly unpredictable endurance race, where leading the field came with its own risks and where rivals could quickly become fundraising targets.
Victory on the night went to Team Daytona, led by CEO Charles Graham and featuring an all-star line-up of Team BRIT driver Bobby Trundley, Super Champs champion Kristine Kolodziejski and Daytona tutor Archie Snell. They were joined on the podium by VDS Racing, made up of Sandown Park InKart regulars Dexter Roest, Spencer Roest and Valter Zips, while a team of Jamie Chadwick Series regulars finished third after leading the race until a last-minute charity black flag sent them into the pits.
While the racing provided the entertainment, the true purpose of the evening was to raise awareness of the extraordinary work carried out by KSS. Guests heard from former patients, crew members and pilots, bringing home the reality of a service that is called upon in the most critical moments.
One of the patients racing on the night was Chris Rolfe. Chris was working as a shepherd on a farm in Surrey when a stack of large hay bales collapsed onto him, trapping him from the waist down in a remote barn with poor phone signal. Unable to free himself or call for help, he had to scream until a passer-by heard him. By the time help arrived, Chris was in severe pain, unable to move his left leg and at risk of life-threatening internal injuries. He had suffered a devastating pelvic injury, damage to his hip socket, multiple broken ribs and a broken ankle.
KSS were first on scene after locating the remote farm by helicopter. Their crew gave Chris strong pain relief and sedation so he could be moved safely, stabilised his pelvis with a pelvic binder, treated his ankle and administered medication to reduce the risk of bleeding before flying him to St George’s Major Trauma Centre. Their intervention helped protect him from shock, internal bleeding and further injury, giving him the best possible chance of survival and recovery.
KSS support continued long after Chris arrived at hospital. Through the charity’s Patient and Family Aftercare Team, Chris and his wife Sophie were able to better understand what had happened that day and receive support through the emotional trauma that followed. Chris’s story was one of many powerful reminders shared during the event of why the charity’s work is so vital.
Guests were also treated to a fly-over from one of the KSS helicopters, with the crew demonstrating the RRV and equipment used by the service.
Further funds were raised through a special charity raffle, with generous donations from local businesses including Pizza Express Esher, The Oakwood, Hummings Bar, Big Smoke Inns, The Drift Golf Club and GoBoat Kingston. The raffle alone generated £750 for KSS.
The evening also featured a charity auction, with guests bidding for money-can’t-buy prizes including a passenger ride with F1 film stunt driver Luciano Bacheta and hospitality tickets at Brands Hatch with Team BRIT at the GT Cup.
Daytona would like to thank every driver, guest, donor, volunteer and business that supported the event. More than £12,000 was raised for Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex, helping to fund a service that brings advanced medical care directly to people in life-threatening emergencies across the region.
Speaking about the event Rebecca Ussher, Corporate Partnerships Manager at KSS said “We are so grateful to Charles Graham and the team at Daytona Racing for putting on this really brilliant event in support of our lifesaving work. It was a very special evening.”
