By Rebecca Coles
A Kingston student is leading the KU karting club in organising a charity event to raise money for injured British soldiers.
Craig Robertson, 19, a second-year geography student, decided to raise money for Race2Recovery, a rally team of British soldiers who have suffered life changing injuries.
“Some of my friends have been soldiers and I have heard what they have been through,” said Craig. “Some people go about their everyday lives complaining and it’s not until you come across heroes that have lost arms and legs that you appreciate what you have.”
After meeting some of the soldiers at the Birmingham Autosports show in January, Craig, along with fellow members of the Kingston karting club, plans to raise money with an event organised for the team and their QT Wildcat Rally Car.
World’s hardest race
Race2Recovery is a cross country rally team formed by wounded soldiers. They plan to race nearly 10,000km, through Argentina and Chile before crossing the finishing line in Lima, Peru.
The team will cover up to 900km per day across the hardest terrain in the world including the Patagonian desert and the Andes Mountains. Upon completion they will be the first handicapped team to complete the race.
Race2Recovery are linked with Help for Heroes, The Royal British Legion and Combat Stress, a group of charities who helped men on the road to recovery from severe injuries sustained during tours of Afghanistan like Captain Tony Harris and Corporal Tom Neathaway.
Captain Harris was seriously injured in May 2009, when his patrol vehicle was destroyed by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) in Sangin, Afghanistan. He lost his left leg below the knee, as well as suffering several other injuries.
Corporal Neathaway set off an IED while covering his platoon. He lost both legs and his left arm.
Craig said: “As a club, we have been talking about running charity events since the beginning of the year, and when introduced to some of the team at the Autosports show, it clicked that this was the charity we should be supporting.”
Craig and his karting team are also working on organising several nights out and working with some big names in the motorsports industry to try to secure some deals for prizes.