By Carole Dennett
A star-studded special event on Playstation racing game Gran Turismo Sport will run later today, to raise funds for Ventnor’s St. Catherine’s School. The ‘Grove Cup’ is being organised by motorsport commentator and former St. Catherine’s student Adam Weller (pictured), and will feature professional racing drivers such as Alex Brundle, Oliver Webb, David Perel, Charlie Robertson and Jake Hill.
Mr Weller said: “Given the current global situation, my calendar of work at racing events has suddenly disappeared. Many people in motorsport have turned to ‘sim racing’ on video games in the interim, and I thought it would be great to put together something that would benefit a cause near and dear to me, with the help of some of my faster friends!
“I was a student at St. Catherine’s for four years, and without the skills passed on to me there, I don’t think I’d be able to do my dream job. This time of year would surely be the peak of fundraising for St. Catherine’s ordinarily, so I was very keen to do something to help ever so slightly in these times.”
Mrs Thompson, St Catherine’s principal said, “We are delighted that Adam is supporting us in this way during this challenging time. It is also wonderful to see Adam fulfil his potential and successfully achieve his ambition of being a motorsports commentator. All the funds that Adam raises will help us to continue to deliver education, therapy and care to children and young people with speech, language and communication needs”.
The line-up of drivers serves as a showcase of top talent from world-renowned events including the Le Mans 24 Hours, British Touring Car Championship, International GT Open and Intercontinental GT Challenge, all of whom will go head-to-head in identical Aston Martins.
The event will be live-streamed and commentated on by Mr Weller, with a donation target of £5,000. It will air at 2pm today, on the Twitch channel ‘AdamWeller_’. Donations can be made via https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/grove-cup-st-catherines.
