Plea made to find stolen karts of late F1 racer Jules Bianchi
Jules Bianchi’s father says his late son’s kart was stolen
Philippe Bianchi, father of late Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi, has made an emotional plea on social media following the theft of numerous karts.
Jules Bianchi was a promising prospect of Ferrari’s Young Driver Programme and made his F1 debut in 2013 with the Marussia team.
In 2014, he scored his and the team’s first points when he finished ninth at the Monaco Grand Prix.
During that year’s Japanese Grand Prix, he was involved in an incident with a trackside vehicle, which left him with severe head trauma.
He was placed into a medically induced coma, and remained so for nine months until his death on 17 July 2015.
Bianchi became the first F1 driver to lose their life due to an incident since Ayrton Senna in 1994.
In the wake of his son’s death, Philippe Bianchi created a foundation to help young drivers.
On Wednesday, Philippe Bianchi posted on his social media channels that nine JB17 Forever karting chassis were stolen, as well as the last kart Jules Bianchi ever raced.
He made an emotional plea to help recover the lost karts.
“Dear friends, tonight I am addressing my karting family,” he wrote.
“Last night we were burgled, and the unscrupulous thieves made off with nine JB17 Forever chassis.
“Even worse, they stole Jules' last kart, a KZ 125 ART GP model, as well as my grandsons' mini karts.
“Apart from the value of the machines, it is the sentimental value that hurts us.
“If you see any JB17 karts in circulation, please let me know. Thank you in advance.”
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