Despite the tragedy of pilot Kevin Whyman’s death casting a shadow over the occasion, the decision was made to continue with the scheduled programme for CarFest North at Oulton Park at the weekend.
But proceedings did come to a halt on Sunday morning when TV and radio presenter and CarFest founder Chris Evans led a heartfelt tribute to the former Chester King’s School student who lost his life on Saturday afternoon.
The rest of the weekend saw 65,000 people attend the event to enjoy musical performances take place from Will Young, Texas, Joss Stone, Billy Ocean and The Boomtown Rats among many others providing a backdrop to the Ferraris, Aston Martins and Jaguars that were among those taking to the Oulton Park track to raise money for BBC Children in Need.
The Dirty Dozen featured 12 eye-catchers from Evans’s own collection of Ferraris, Astons, Mercs and Jags, and this was followed by the Sporting Bear Eleven, the Race Car Ten, Iconic Nine, Hot Rod Eight, Supercar Seven, Rally Six, Furious Five, Fun Four, Dragster Three, Dynamic Duo and Formula One.
The event was the inspiration of DJ Evans in 2012.
It initially a one-off in Hampshire, but the event was so popular Evans created a second in the North West.
A minimum of 25% of all ticket income goes directly to the Car Fest charity and has already raised more than £3.5m for Children in Need.
