Motorsport: Drivers hop into karts to benefit injured van der Drift

Chris van der Drift. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Kiwi race car driver Chris van der Drift made world headlines after he launched himself into the air, via Julien Jousse's car, and tried to take out the overpass bridge at Pilgrims Drop during a Superleague race at Brand Hatch last month.

The former Formula Master, Formula BMW and Formula Renault champion broke his right ankle and little finger, fractured his shoulder blade, broke two ribs and severely damaged his left index finger.

The Weekend Herald spoke to van der Drift shortly after his accident and, now five weeks into his recovery, the New Zealander is in good spirits.

He's been buoyed by the news a number of his fellow racers, from various championships, are getting together for a fund-raiser to generate much needed money for his rehabilitation.

"I feel fine in myself but my body is feeling a bit secondhand at the moment but things are definitely getting better," said van der Drift. "The karting event has really taken off and I'm really excited about it. We've also had a lot of gear donated for the auctions from McLaren, Mercedes GP and Renault F1 teams.

"I've also got a bit of my car I crashed in for the auction as well."

Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull F1 test driver), Alexander Sims (F3 Euroseries), Jean-Eric Vergne (British F3), Kiwis Brendon Hartley (WSR) and Tom Blomqvist (FRenaultUK) and Oli Webb (British F3) will be among the drivers to be waved off by Formula One championship contender Mark Webber at the start of the two-hour endurance event.

The event, being held at the Daytona karting track at Milton Keynes on Tuesday, will be open to the public. Kiwis can make a donation towards the recovery by going to his website www.chrisvanderdrift.com and clicking on the "Donate" button on the left-hand side.