An iconic racer from one of TV’s most popular motoring shows will spearhead a north-east fundraiser in aid of pioneering brain tumour treatment.
Perry McCarthy, who was Top Gear’s original Stig, will be the face of a wacky races charity event at Inverurie’s Thainstone House Hotel on March 25.
The fundraiser is being held in aid of Funding Neuro, which is currently raising £900,000 to progress research into new technology for delivering chemotherapy for children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma brain tumours.
Mr McCarthy featured in Formula One in 1992 before moving onto sports car racing, and has competed in 24 Hours of Le Mans five times.
He helped create the character of The Stig, and played the anonymous racetrack driver for two seasons of the show.
The wacky races event will bring together six famous north-east faces, which will remain “top secret” until the date.
They will be pitted against each other for a series of contests overseen by Mr McCarthy.
The races themselves will not be confined to the race tracks either, and could involve kitchen cook-offs.
They will be pre-filmed, with those turning up to Thainstone House being asked to bet on who will win each individual competition.
On the day, ex-Formula One driver Mr McCarthy will give a talk about his career in the fast lane and working with racing stars like Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, along with Jeremy Clarkson and co.
Guests may also be given a glimpse of his driving skills.
The event has been organised by George Walker Event Management.
Manager director George Walker said: “He is not only a great driver, he worked on the oil rigs before he got heavily into racing. He has a connection with the north-east.
“We all want to know what went on behind the scenes on Top Gear, it is a great story.
“It is an event we hope people will see and think ‘that looks like fun’. We have been doing a lot of work with Funding Neuro.
“Wacky races are great, you go around doing some silly races. We realised to do it in Aberdeen we had to do something special.
“What Perry is going to do is talk and compere the races himself. There will be probably about eight races involved, and it is safe to say Perry will be taking part in one of the races.”
A variety of prizes will be on offer on the night, which will also include food and music from the Silver City Soul Revue. For tickets, or more information, visit www.georgewalkerevents.co.uk
