The atmosphere was electric last week at Daytona Sandown Park as the industry gathered for the first Backup Kartfest in three years. With Chauvet once again headline sponsor, more teams and spectators than ever before, and a grand total of £35K raised, it certainly did not disappoint.
In opening proceedings, Backup trustee Lee Dennison paid tribute to Backup Chair, John Simpson, who was instrumental in starting the charity and worked tirelessly to ensure it fulfilled its remit and sadly passed in June, whilst welcoming the 33 teams who were about to take their places on the starting grid with the hope of becoming Kartfest 2022 champions.
Adding to the fun was the first Roadie Games, which started with the Flight Case Team Relay on the main track, which was almost as fast and furious as the racing itself, closely followed by field events to test the strength, endurance and industry skills of the teams taking part. Also new this year is ‘KraftFest’, which saw Backup partner, Big Drop Brewing, Signature Brew and Green Room Distillery’s gin on site with their drinks.
As well as the familiar faces of the industry, including Music Supports chief executive, Eric Mtungwazi, and Backup’s Jess Allen, who highlighted the importance of Backup’s Mental Health First Aider courses, Kartfest welcomed its future stars, students from Ravensbourne College's Creative Capital and Solent University's Sonar TV societies who filmed the fun and live streamed the action during the day.
Freelancer Team ‘Quicker Than a Cam Op to Catering’ was announced Kartfest Champion’s 2022, with Chauvet in second place and SSFL in third. Simon Allan claimed fastest qualifying lap for Team Christie Lites and the Driving Miss Daisy award went to Sara Ande from team ESG Global.