Although the idea is not new, the Formula 1 and Formula 2 Ben Funds have been the only ones in short oval racing for several decades. When Dave Pierce took over Buxton Raceway in 1999 he decided the Personal Accident Insurance was not enough and set up a Fund for his drivers. This ran almost unnoticed for 10 years, until a chain of events unfolded that led directly to the establishment of FORDS.
When banger driver Chris ‘Caulty’ Ault (422) was seriously injured at Psychomania at Sheffield in September 2009, Manuela took an orange B&Q bucket from her garden shed and went collecting for him. The first collection took place at Aldershot on 4th October, and from this event the idea of a Ben Fund for bangers quickly snowballed into reality.
Nico was instrumental in making it happen and immediately offered more fundraising ideas, continuing to support the new Ben Fund for bangers. Meanwhile, in the weeks after Caulty’s accident, his brother Mr Dino (421) was contacted by Murphy with ideas on how he too could get involved to help Chris through a tough time – including a greeting card car! – and they raised an impressive sum to help out.
A year later, the original Ben Fund for bangers ran into trouble. The ORCi seized the idea and approached freshly retired DP to run an all-formula Ben Fund at all their tracks. The timing could not have been better: Nico became available after leaving his job to work full-time at Spedeworth; Wusty had also just retired from racing; and Manuela had left the banger Ben Fund following its troubles. DP assembled the team and added the staff and photographers who also risk injury on the race track – and FORDS was born.
|