I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.
Mother Theresa
Remarkable things often happen, and the inspiration behind such events is sometimes simply an unsung hero bringing their empathy and compassion into the light. One such story is that of eight-year-old Jarlath Sayer, who lives in England but decided to spread his inspiration and passion across the whole world on seeing the plight in the Ukraine of children just like him.
On the 28th of June this year, Jarlath presented a fundraising idea to his father, and his father’s friends, an idea that grew into a charity karting event at Rye House Kart raceway in Hertfordshire. Jarlath himself is a junior in the British Karting Championship, a hobby which he says is his passion.
The charity Jarlath chose to involve was us, and we welcomed the event with open arms. We often forget how much young people see. Yet nowadays, being exposed to social media and television, they grow up with their own ideologies and outlooks, and some even put that into practice. Like Jarlath. One young man decided he’d had enough and wanted to make a ripple in the pond that would have lasting effects.
The 2022 Support Ukraine Grand Prix took place in June. Featured as a ‘Le Mans’ style karting event, it was attended by a wealth of celebrities and motor racing heroes. Sponsors included Mercedes F1, and F1 team Lando Norris. Freddie Hunt, son of James Hunt, F1 world champion, led his team, ‘Sons of Speed’ on the track. With twenty-three teams out there racing, the event was one loud, fast and furious event.
Another very special highlight of the day was the show casing of the film ‘Sons of Speed’, a documentary featuring the rivalry between the sons of the two world famous F1 superstars. This film is due to be premiered at the Cannes film festival. To celebrate, there were promotional gifts and sneak previews of the film at the event.
This incredible event raised £12300 for the charity, no small feat indeed. The charity extends a sincere Thank You to everyone who participated to make this event happen.
‘We are very grateful to all organisers - the event mastermind Mark Garrett, the Rye House Directors Kevin O'Malley and Ryan Musk, the motorsport media consultant Alex Goldschmidt, the legendary motorsport photographer Jim Robertson and many others for running the most epic fundraiser!!!
We'd like to thank the Founder of BWSPEED Babacar W. Samb for kindly donating some BWSPEED merchandise towards raising much needed funds for our charitable causes.
Our special thank you goes to British-Ukrainian Aid volunteers for your hard work with helping on the day - Georgia, Trine, Caio, Simon, Arthur, Grigory, Svitozar, Olha and Andrii. You were amazing!
Our extended thanks go to all the drivers and event participants for your kind support and generous donations which will be used to help those affected by the war in Ukraine.
And a very special shout out to the hero of the hour – Jarlath Sayer, without whom this would not have happened.’
Some useful links to follow if you feel you wish to support the companies and individuals involved in this event, plus a look at a new film you may want to put on your watchlist.
British-Ukrainian Aid – Help people to continue their life with dignity!
Rye House – Kart Racing & Events (rye-house.co.uk)
SONS OF SPEED: HUNT VS LAUDA | OFFICIAL TRAILER 2022 - YouTube
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