History of BBC Children in Need Endurance Events

By Roy “The Rocket” Wright

2006

Adrian Thomson opened The Race Centre in Chandler’s Ford in 2006 and in November of that year made a donation to Children in Need of one day’s takings.

2007

However, in 2007 everything changed. The idea of an endurance race to raise money was floated in a conversation with Gary Kitson and Nadine Gorman and the whole thing was set up in one week.

Ten teams competed for the winner’s trophy and some £7,500 was raised for the charity. In this same year, Dan Mulcahy’s young son Oliver made some cakes and sold them to the competitors to add to the money raised.

2008

The event was immediately established as a regular event for November and so in the following year, ten teams filled the venue. Part of the event included an auction for various items of racing memorabilia and special activities such as track days.

A spirit of camaraderie was evident from the start and on occasion members of one team would do a driving stint for another team if they were momentarily missing a driver.

2009

In 2009 A prize was offered to the first three teams, of a visit to Honda at Brackley. This was the year when they were bowing out of Formula One. I was lucky enough to go on that visit, to find the whole place really buzzing with a winning car in prospect. Ross Brawn then took over the company and as we all know Jensen Button went on to win the championship.

2010

On a personal note, I do recall that in 2010 Dave Goode the marketing manager screened a children’s TV programme in which I appeared ( The Rocket).

2011

In  2011 the BBC came along to The Race Centre on the Thursday before the 24-hour race and actually did a direct broadcast, including the weather forecast,  from the venue.

Also in 2011, the rules were changed such that teams who raised more than £500 for the charity were given higher fuel loads which resulted in fewer pit stops. This was not repeated in the following years. Sleeping spots were always at a premium and Richard Weaving finished up taking a rest underneath the bench where we kept the cushions for young drivers. Dan Wells also took advantage of the facility in 2009.

For a number of years, Nadine Gorman ran a successful barbecue in front of the adjacent property. It was enough for one of her customers to go back into the venue, for the distinctive smell to send others out to buy themselves a burger!   I do remember an apparent problem with the fuel supply which we attempted to solve by wrapping the gas canister in blankets. We eventually realised that it was actually almost empty.

In either 2010 or 2011, one of the major activities available in the auction was a visit to a major racing team, which was highly prized since this was a rare event. Bids were coming in online but had stalled at around £500. It so happened that The Race Centre had a short slot on the main BBC broadcast in which Dave Goode appeared. Within a short while after the broadcast, the bidding jumped to £1,500!

2012

In 2012 the format was changed somewhat for administrative reasons and the race was dropped back to 12 hours.

2013

In a slight change to the usual routine, the 2013 event took place at the Surbiton franchise location.

2014

The event was not held in the following year due to administrative problems.

2015

2015 saw the event back in Chandlers Ford with nine teams in competition in this year. This year also saw the amount of money raised in total for Children in Need, go over £50,000. The Race Centre staff were put on their mettle when it was necessary to do a steering wheel change on one of the pods. To their credit, this was done in three minutes flat!

2016

In 2016 there were ten teams with a total of some 48 drivers. This year there were 2 steering wheel changes and one pedal change also done very swiftly by Race Centre staff. A barbecue was run by Trevor Bell and his wife and was much appreciated by all. Adrian and his guests ( Natasha Rush, Bill Williams and Roy Wright ) went to the BBC South Children in Need broadcast in Salisbury. The BBC had already recorded a segment for the main programme showing Pudsey driving one of the cars in The Race Centre. In this year the Wacky Racers team raised the amazing sum of £2450 for the charity.

2017

2017 marked the tenth year in which this event was run with ten teams and around 40 drivers. Thanks to the efforts of James Chant the teams drove cars with their own unique livery. The track signage reflected the event featuring Children in Need, Just Giving and The Race Centre.

2018

2018 saw funds raised for £3,500.

2019

No event this year due to other activities

2020

And then COVID came along …

2021

It was good to be able to run this event in 2021. There were due to be eight teams in the competition. Unfortunately, Team Taylors had to withdraw at the last minute as two  of their drivers contracted the Covid virus. The team very kindly made a donation to Children in Need.

The race was run at Spa Francorchamps which was the third time it had been used. It was the inaugural track in 2007 and again in 2015. This year saw a new addition to the event in the form of a commentator, Adam Weller. This proved to be popular and I don’t doubt he will be asked to return next year.

Once again there was a driver who drove the whole twenty-four hours by himself. This time it was Charles Grout, a former race controller who finished in an amazing second place.

During the race one of the teams were having a problem with their acceleration pedal. Adrian Thomson carried out a repair while the car continued to be driven around the track!

The racing overall was very close as witnessed by the very small spread in the lap totals, some twenty overall. The teams in first and second place were separated by one lap, as were the teams in third and fourth places.

2022

This year, the start time was altered to 3:00pm, and we were back to full strength with ten teams. Adam Weller was with us once again and enhanced the atmosphere of the event with his fantastic commentary.

We did have a hitch in the early hours of Saturday morning in which the PC running the server lost power, but this was quickly resolved by Ollie and Ethan who were running the event.

The Chandler’s Ford Chargers won the race continuing their winning streak, and once more proved to be invincible.

2023

This year saw another full grid with all 10 spaces selling out long before the first practice session. Adam Weller was with us once again with his fantastic commentary and a lineup of star-studded interviews throughout the event. Team Southampton Motorsport returned after their absence in 2022, and we welcomed a new entrant “Worst Pace Scenario”.

The track this year has custom branding banners around it, and the stream had a WEC-style broadcast overlay.

There was only one technical issue during the event. The Chandler’s Ford Chargers’ Pod turned off with about three and a half hours left on the clock. This was quickly resolved, and the racing continued. If not for this issue, the final lap count would have been over 900!

The Chandler’s Ford Chargers once again won the race continuing their winning streak. That makes 6 overall victories, 5 consecutive, for The Chandler’s Ford Chargers team name.

2024

This year 9 out of the 10 teams were present on the grid in either 2022 or 2023, a few renamed, but 9 of the 10 teams were returning faces. As a result, the 2024 event sold out within a week of the 2023 event finishing. “Harrison Floored” were welcomed as a new 10th team, and their car featured a wrap of the Star Wars Death Star surface. Fan favorite Adam Weller returned with his fantastic commentary and interviews throughout the event.

Just as the 2023 event did, the track this year had custom branding banners around it for The Race Centre and BBC Children in Need. The World Endurance Style stream overlay returned, but this year featured a few behind the scenes refinements to make sure that it stayed active for the entire event.

There were only two technical issues during the event – The Chandler’s Ford Chargers’ Pod completely froze on two occasions, but this was quickly resolved, and the racing continued without needing to fully red flag/restart the event like was needed in 2022 and 2023. Credit to the event organizers for managing the situation, and getting the racing resumed as quickly as possible!

The Chandler’s Ford Chargers once again took the top step of the podium, thereby continuing their winning streak. That makes 7 overall victories, 6 consecutive, for The Chandler’s Ford Chargers team name. Michael Hillman, Ollie Swift, and Ethan Jonas set a new record for the number of consecutive wins by individual drivers at 4.

The event raised over £5400 in total!

Reflections

Looking back over the years the team which has driven most often is that of Matt Bell under various names such as Bell-Well, NMB Racing and Bells Billies. In 2010, Matt drove the whole 24 hours by himself!  In that time his teams have racked up 5 wins.

Driven and Devoted raced 3 times with 2 wins, while The Chandler’s Ford Chargers have raced since 2015 with 7 wins to their credit. Tom Smith and his friends have appeared under various names such as Slow and Steady, Tim Tom Racing, The Nomads and Spin Doctors.

In 2011 Star Wars Extras first appeared racing as The Misfits. They reappeared from 2015 until 2018.  They brought with them the inimitable Bill Williams who became our entertaining auctioneer for several years.