Jody Scheckter and Little Havens Children's Hospice

I am currently writing a l-o-n-g post about our amazing few days away at The Castrol Edge Nürburgring Experience with BMW Motorsport, and I wanted to try and keep all these posts in chronological order, but last night I attended a charity event at the British Racing Driver's Club and was so inspired by one of the speakers, I thought I would write a little something about it.

Jody Scheckter in his Tyrell

Will's List Charity Night Raises £5,000 for Make a Wish Foundation UK

Recently, my friends at The Lakeside Brasserie and Watermark hosted a fantastic races night in aid of my chosen charity, Make a Wish Foundation UK.  Make a Wish grant wishes to children with a life threatening illness.  Since starting my own journey to fulfill my motoring dreams, I've realised how much it can help lift my spirits by having something special to look forward to.  Make a Wish do this for hundreds of children each year, and deserve our full support to continue their great work.

It was an evening of horse racing, live music from the incredible Duke and quite a lot of merriment.  I think it's fair to say a good time was had by all.  Especially Debs, who enjoyed the night so much, she forgot how to walk!  There was even a 'W' shaped vodka ice luge!

Debs doing her bit for charity on the vodka luge

The Gibney Aces Learn to Fly

The Gibney's are a family of Aviators.  Currently, we have two commercial pilots in the family; Edward, my cousin, who has just qualified and landed a job with Ryanair, and his father (my uncle) Pete, a 747 captain with British Airways.  My other uncle, Jim, was also a captain with British Airways flying 747s until he retired five years ago.

The pioneer of aviation in the Gibney family was my great uncle, Charles, who flew Comets.  One of the most frequently recited stories at Gibney family gatherings is the one where Charles boarded his plane and pretended to be a passenger, taking a seat in the back.  After waiting for a while, he jumped to his feet shouting, "Blow this! I'll fly it myself!" and then taking his place at the controls to the astonishment of the other passengers.  I don't think Edward will ever get to have fun like that with Ryanair these days.

A Day in a Ferrari Enzo and an F50 - Another One Complete!

This is a BIG one.  So big, I don’t really know where to start.  A brief history lesson maybe?

Back in 2002, Ferrari announced it would be producing a new hypercar to follow on from the iconic 288 GTO, F40 and F50.  The car would be known as the Enzo Ferrari, named after the company’s founder.  Originally they were only going to produce 349 Enzos (the philosophy is to always produce one less than you think you can sell) however they ended up producing an extra 50, bringing the total to 399.  A new Enzo cost around £420,000 but having the cash wasn’t enough to get you behind the wheel – you had to be ‘invited’ by Ferrari.  Owning one of the car’s predecessors was one of the criteria that might help you.  Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason was one of the lucky ones, as was Jamiroquai’s JK who even wrote a song about his Enzo, entitled ‘Black Devil Car’.  I’m listening to the song now.  It doesn’t quite do it justice.

Ferrari Enzo with a Grinning Fool

A McSurprise

The Mclaren MP4-12C

Last week, my friend and superstar personal trainer from Elite Health and Fitness, Lucy Eames, sent me a cryptic message telling me to be outside work at 12:00 the next day.  Lucy had mentioned a few of her clients had some fast cars and so I guessed it might have something to do with one of them, but I was completely shocked when she arrived in the new McLaren MP4-12C.

A Day Out with Simon Taylor and his HWM Stovebolt Special

The HWM Stovebolt Special

Many of the cars on my list are considered “rare”.  When was the last time you saw a McLaren F1 in the car park at Tesco?  However, I recently had the opportunity to experience something truly unique in the motoring world - a passenger ride in a one-of-a-kind, 62 year-old ex Formula 2 Car - the HWM “Stovebolt Special”.

Make a Wish Charity Auction - Bid by Email

This Friday 23rd March, my friends at Watermark and The Lakeside Brasserie are holding a Charity Race Night in aid of my chosen charity, Make a Wish.  The Race Night has now sold out, raising over £1,000 already, but there is also going to be a blind auction with fantastic lots and you can bid by email.