By Shane Stokes
Some of the star drivers in motor sports will team up with top cycling racers for the inaugural Goodwood Organic Milk Race, to be held as part of the Festival of Speed from June 22-24.
F1 drivers Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson, and Mark Webber, former World Rally Champion Colin McRae, Le Mans winner Allan McNish and motorcycle master Troy Bayliss have all signed up for the charity event. They will join Saunier Duval pro David Millar, Olympic gold medal-winning cyclists Jason Queally and Chris Hoy, Commonwealth gold and Olympic silver medallist Rob Hayles and current triple World Champion Victoria Pendleton for the two-up time trial, which will be held at Goodwood house.
Many top motor sport drivers have used cycling as part of their fitness regime, with several past champions having well-known links to the sport. The new Festival of Speed event will see each motorsport star being paired up with a top cyclist and compete a short but challenging time trial from Goodwood House to the top of the hill and back. The time for each team will be taken on the second rider, and spectators will be able to wager on the results via SMS in order to win a top-of-the-range carbon road racing bike. All funds will be donated to the Richard Burns Foundation, which is supporting this year's chosen Festival charity, the Teenage Cancer Trust.
The Goodwood Organic Milk Race is taking place exactly two weeks before the start of the Tour de France in London and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The competition has been developed by London based cycling agency Face Partnership It coincides with the introduction of Goodwood's own organic milk, which is sold in corn starch-based bottles that are fully compostable in 10 weeks. This is produced at Goodwood Estate's Home Farm, which is the largest self-sustainable organic farm in Europe.
Festival visitors can bet on which duo will come out best, while at the same time helping to raise money for the charity.
To enter, they can send a text message to 80806, stating RBF and the letter of the chosen team (e.g. A, B, C, etc.), plus the time in seconds that they think it will take them to complete the testing 2.32 mile Goodwood course. All messages will be charged at standard rate, plus £1.50. The Richard Burns Foundation will receive each donation net of charges applied by mobile network operators. Alternatively, they can enter by completing a competition form at one of the three competition pods located at the Festival.
Further information is available at www.richardburnsfoundation.com.
