21/06/2006
NEWS STORY
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As World Cup Fever sweeps the world, all the biggest names from the world of F1 have created a unique piece of sporting history to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity (GOSHCC).
Bernie Ecclestone, Jenson Button, Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard were just four of the 59 high profile names to sign a huge England Flag which is being auctioned on Ebay.
This strictly one-off limited edition is the biggest collection of signatures from F1 on an England flag, and one of the first 'money cannot buy' items GOSHCC will be selling over the next few months. Also up for grabs will be some amazing other pieces of personalised F1 memorabilia.
Dave Jones and Richard Everett, two members of the Formula One Management security team, came up with the idea of asking all the F1 Racing Drivers, including two-time world Champion Mika Hakkinen (above), at Silverstone to sign the flag to raise money for GOSHCC.
"I bought the flag for my son because the England match was on, but it struck us that it would be great if we could use it to make money for the hospital," said Dave.
GOSHCC is Mr Ecclestone's official charity for the British Grand Prix and the hospital's children are invited to enjoy the racing from the Pit and Paddock every year where they get to meet their F1 heroes.
Money raised by the auction of the flag, plus the charity's collection at Silverstone over the Grand Prix weekend, will go towards the £2 million needed to build a Formula One Cardiac Operating Theatre and Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.
Sarah Hope, Head of Corporate Partnerships at GOSHCC said, "We have been overwhelmed by the strength of support from the F1 Community as a whole, and in particular Mr. Bernie Ecclestone. The flag is an amazing sight, covered as it is with much sought-after signatures"
You can find out more about the flag, and bid for it by clicking here
The auction ends at 13:00 on Monday 26th June