On the 20th December 2008, Wembley Stadium opened it's doors to 20 karting teams from across the UK. The event was a 24 hour race using Daytona Max, 2 stroke karts capable of speeds up to 80mph. The highlights of the event were released to DVD and were also televised on Motors TV. A feature also appeared in Karting magazine in early 2009.

The circuit is a modified version of the course used for the Race of Champions event held on the 14th December 2008. The inside lane is used all the way up to the bridge, where the lanes switch, avoiding the use of the bridge and the outside long straights / corners. The outside lane was used as the pit entry road and pit lane.  

I raced along side 9 other drivers for team Race Drivers Inc, a newly formed group of drivers who share the same passion for motorsport with the ambition to win! It's only the second time for some of us that we had raced in a Dmax Kart. With a new strategy and skilled competition, including professional drivers such as Formula 1 test driver Sam Bird, we knew a podium finish wasn't going to be easy! 

The venue itself was completely overwhelming and a surreal experience. Walking out of the England players tunnel to the track and just admiring the size / scale of the stadium is very difficult to get your head around! I certainly felt like a fish out of water, however you begin to settle in and forget where you are and focus on the job at hand. It's very hard to describe trying to sleep in Wembley stadium at 3am with karts racing around, and experience the eerie silence when the red flags come out during the race. You really had to be there!

Race Drivers Inc ended up with mid table finish, which realistically was a good result, and can be improved upon with a revised strategy. A rule change mid way through saw us punished with several black flags, resulting in time costly penalties taking us out of the top ten. For those who weren't there, anyone hitting the barriers at turns one or five, regardless of fault, had to sit in the pits for five minutes. We had several of these, most no fault of our own. Our lap times were up there though with the best of them, but CJ Motorsport & Mac Boys really had the strategy and skill to challenge for 1st place right from the beginning.  

Overall, an awesome experience so personal thanks to all who made it happen! RDI will be back at the next 24 hour at Milton Keynes in September 2009. 

Check out the photos from the event below: