A Stevenage racing driver diagnosed with a chronic illness is to take part in a charity challenge into deepest France, starting this weekend.

The Comet: Darren and Lorraine Standing with their Aston Martin ahead of the Beaujolais Run. Picture: Darren StandingDarren and Lorraine Standing with their Aston Martin ahead of the Beaujolais Run. Picture: Darren Standing (Image: Archant)

Darren Standing, 52, and his wife Lorraine – Team Shaken not Stirred – will be taking part in this year’s Beaujolais Run at the wheel of a classic Aston Martin, heading from Britain to the Burgundy wine country.

They leave on Sunday, and they hope to raise at least £1,000 for the Henry Surtees Foundation – which supports the UK air ambulances – and Crohn’s and Colitis UK.

The latter cause is particularly dear to Darren as he has Crohn’s disease, a condition affecting the gastrointestinal tract.

Darren and Lorraine celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary next week, and he told the Comet they couldn’t think of a better way to mark three decades.

The Comet: The Standings' Aston Martin ahead of the Beaujolais Run. Picture: Darren StandingThe Standings' Aston Martin ahead of the Beaujolais Run. Picture: Darren Standing (Image: Archant)

“Adventurous? Yes! Frivolous? Definitely! But it’s all for a good cause,” he said.

Darren, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in December 2015, has already been fundraising for Crohn’s and Colitis UK throughout his season in the GT Cup Championship – bringing in a handy £1,500.

Darren said: “All my racing plans had to be put on hold throughout 2016 as I tried to recover from the surgery and get to grips with living day to day with a chronic condition.

“This year I was able to start racing again and, in a complete fluke, it turned out my teammate also has Crohn’s. From this we decided we could try to raise awareness and hopefully some money for the main inflammatory bowel disease organisation Crohn’s and Colitis UK. With their blessing, we have run our Ginetta G55 in the charity livery.”

The Comet: The Ginetta G55 in which Ian Goodchild and Darren Standing raced in the GT Cup Championship bearing the Crohn's and Colitis UK livery. Picture: Darren StandingThe Ginetta G55 in which Ian Goodchild and Darren Standing raced in the GT Cup Championship bearing the Crohn's and Colitis UK livery. Picture: Darren Standing (Image: Archant)

Darren took part in the Race of Remembrance in aid of veterans’ charity Mission Motorsport in 2014 and 2015, but this year decided to switch to the Beaujolais Run.

The run was created in 1970, originally as a race to bring the latest Beaujolais Nouveau back to England as quickly as possible. It is now a navigational event, billed as offering a level playing field to all sorts of vehicles.

If you’d like to support Darren and Lorraine with a donation, see uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/shakennotstirreddoesthebeaujolaisrun2017.

Anyone who donates can guess the team’s total mileage, with a prize donated by one of the team’s sponsors up for grabs to whoever has the closest prediction.

The Comet: The Standings' Aston Martin ahead of the Beaujolais Run. Picture: Darren StandingThe Standings' Aston Martin ahead of the Beaujolais Run. Picture: Darren Standing (Image: Archant)