A RACING charity group is returning with its first event in ten years in support of Motor Neurone Disease.

Racing4Charity, the fundraising partnership between David Brabham and Bill Williams, will stage a charity endurance kart race with the sole aim of raising funds for The MND Association (MNDA), at Thruxton Kart Centre on Thursday, August 26.

Taking place on the eve of the BTCC race weekend, Karting4MND will host 18 teams of between four and six professional drivers, racing team members and the wider motorsport fraternity, all joining together to raise funds to help MNDA further vital research to support people living with the disease.

Renowned for its legendary charity kart races staged for close to a decade at the Autosport International show, Racing4Chariity returns to fundraising after a 10-year hiatus to help support Bill’s younger brother, Gideon Williams, who was diagnosed with MND in 2019.

The motorsport world has also lost great friends such as the late single-seater, sportscar and stunt driver Neil Cunningham, who passed away from MND in 2016.

David Brabham, Racing4Charity co-founder, said: “I’m delighted to be reunited with Bill Williams to resurrect Racing4Charity in our quest to raise funds for the MND Association with our charity karting event at Thruxton Kart Centre.

“Bill and I have worked together for many years and Gideon is a good friend. I have quite a few people in my life who have either passed away or are suffering from this dreadful disease and it is heartbreaking to see the suffering MND causes to the individual and their families.”

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a fatal, rapidly progressing neurological condition affecting up to 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time. The disease causes messages from nerves (motor neurones) in the brain and spinal cord that control movement to gradually stop reaching the muscles, leading them to weaken, stiffen and waste.

The result is that people become locked in a failing body, unable to move, talk and eventually breathe. MND kills a third of people within a year and more than half within two years of diagnosis.

Gideon Williams told the Advertiser: "I was first diagnosed with MND in September 2019. I was a successful Mortgage Broker, not bad at DIY and fairly fit. I took part in a kart race that year and was the fastest lap holder and winner of the event.

“By October 2020 I was so weak that I could not complete a single lap of the same track. Now I can't dress myself, I need help washing and cannot do anything in the house to help my family. This disease has got to be stopped and a solution is out there, it just needs to be found."

The team that wins Karting4MND 2021 will become the inaugural winners of The Gideon Williams Trophy, made from the helmet Gideon used the last time he raced. The fastest team will be awarded the Neil Cunningham Trophy, which is being created by Thruxton.

Among those joining outright and triple Le Mans 24 Hours class winner David Brabham on track will be Kelvin Burt, former Racing4Charity event winners Duncan Tappy, Sam Bird and Will Stevens, Rob, Jordan and Ricky Collard, Ben Barnicoat, and Rick Parfitt. BTCC’s Jade Edwards has also pledged her trackside support.

All but two of the team spaces have been booked, with stars from across the sport supporting the cause. One of the first to sign up was Brookspeed, the team that took Neil to the 1998 Marcos Mantis Championship title, Le Mans and his final British GT campaign.

Also among the field will be the ‘To Le Mans And Back’ team championed by Neil’s close friend, James Beckett, while three teams of Gideon’s family and former work colleagues will also join the action. Other teams include Autosport Magazine and team ‘Racing4MND’ run by MND sufferer Salvo Cacchia, to name a few.

Any professional drivers, teams and members of the motorsport industry wishing to take one of the final team places can contact Bill Williams via karting4mnd@gmail.com

The Karting4MND action will begin on Thursday, August 26 at Thruxton. Practice and Qualifying is at 5pm and the two-hour race starts at 6pm.

In the meantime, racing fans and members of the public can support Karting4MND by donating via the event’s Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bill-williams2 or text MNDKART10 to 70085 to donate £10.

Pamela Fry, of MNDA, said: “Racing4Charity’s help will play a vital role in supporting people living with MND, their families and friends and to bring forward current research projects that may well be able to decrease the symptoms of so many.”

Pat Burns, of Thruxton Circuit, added: "It is a pleasure to welcome David Brabham and Bill Williams back to Thruxton. It has been some years since they have held a kart race here but I am honoured they have chosen Thruxton Kart Centre to return to fundraising.

“I knew Neil Cunningham and know Gideon very well, he has raced here several times. I was so shocked to hear he is suffering the same illness as Neil. We look forward to welcoming all teams to the circuit!”