Unipart raises over £2,000 for BEN

Unipart Automotive and its customers and suppliers have raised over £2,000 for automotive industry charity BEN through their annual golf championship held on Thursday 11 September 2008.

Nine teams competed for several prizes at the Whittlebury Golf Park and Country Club near Towcester, including best putt, nearest the pin and the longest drive as well as the token wooden spoon for the golfer that had an off day.

A series of fundraising initiatives took place throughout the day but the highlight was the auction of the race suit that was worn by Audi's number 1 driver, Allan McNish, in the final round of the 2008 Le Mans Endurance Series race at Silverstone on 14 September 2008. Ivan Holloway, Category Director - Mechanical at Kwik Fit, won the bidding for this top prize, which included hospitality tickets at the race itself.

Commenting on the day, Andrew Jones, chief executive of Klarius Group, said: “We thoroughly enjoyed the day and although it poured with rain in the morning, we caught a rare glimpse of the sun in the afternoon! It was a great team event for an extremely worthwhile charity and it was an added bonus to meet Allan McNish before his big win at Silverstone over the weekend.”

Another highlight of the evening was a question and answer session with Allan, where guests asked him about various topics ranging from what was his worst race to what he thought about the recent controversy over Lewis Hamilton’s position at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Dennis Henderson, managing director of Unipart Automotive, said: “We are delighted that this day proved to be a fun day out for our customers and suppliers whilst raising a lot of money for a very worthy cause. BEN offers invaluable support to those who need it most and I hope this contribution will make a difference to the people who dedicate so much to our industry.”