Christopher Fillocque // Crédit photo : YURIKO NAKAO / AFP
2:46 p.m., September 7, 2024modified at
2:47 p.m., September 7, 2024
A 42-hour, 19-minute and 50-second race for a karting marathon. A unique challenge that has been taking place since Friday evening on the Castelet circuit in the Var. Created more than 10 years ago by Philippe Bianchi, this race aims to pay tribute to Jules Bianchi, a young 25-year-old French driver who died after a tragic accident at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2014.
The 2014 Japanese Grand Prix remains a race that motorsport fans will never forget. In pouring rain, French Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi lost control of his car and crashed into a tow truck. The Marussia driver had started 34 races in the premier class of motorsport.
“It’s a star Jules”
Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc gave the start to this marathon of more than 42 hours of karting on the Castelet circuit in tribute to the man who is his sporting godfather, but who was also a friend off the circuits. This year, 32 crews and 400 drivers are taking part in the event.
Among the drivers involved, we find personalities like the actor Tomer Sisley, the Formula 2 driver Isack Hadjar but also the singer Benjamin Biolay who wrote music for Jules Bianchi and who had never dared to contact his family at the time of the tragedy: “It was when I sang the song about Jules called ‘Grand Prix’ that they contacted me. Then, I was really upset. We know how painful it can be to have news of people we don’t know or know from afar. I am moved, because Jules is a star, it is something that does not pass”.
The proceeds from this “Jules Bianchi” karting marathon will be donated to the Archet hospital in Nice. Last year, 50,000 euros were collected.
