FAQs
What is Day of Champions all about?
There is no other day like it, in any sport. The teams and riders in the paddock give up their time and willingly allow thousands of fans and motorcycling enthusiasts into the circuit. The riders take part in the live auction, giving signed leathers, boots, helmets and one-off prints for lucky members of the crowd to bid for and take home. They also try their hardest to spare time to sign autographs when they can.
But above everything Day of Champions is about supporting Riders for Health's champion work in Africa. It is a chance to prove that motorcycles really do save lives.
Where will the money raised from Day of Champions go?
Every pound raised will help enable African health workers to carry on riding motorcycles over tough rural terrain, reaching people in need of vital health care. Riders and MotoGP form a unique partnership committed to driving disease out of Africa and the money raised on the day really will make a difference.
Listed below are some examples of what we spend in our field programmes
£1 Could buy a spark plug to keep a motorcycle engine running.
£15 Could provide 40 families with a year of healthcare visits.
£25 Could help to train one health worker in essential bike maintenance.
£50 Could help provide replacement parts and servicing for a year.
The total amount of money raised at Day of Champions 2007 was over £200,000. This fantastic sum has helped us achieve a lot of our development goals. It helped keep our three large-scale programmes in the Gambia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe running and enabled us to expand them. In 2008 we hope to exceed this total as we look to begin our new programmes in Mozambique and Lesotho.
The more we can expand our work the more lives we can help save and the nearer Africa will be to getting back on the road to development. The whole world knows only too well how much needs to be achieved in Africa but nothing can be done if the people who are suffering cannot be reached.
Will I get to see my favourite riders at Day of Champions?
We are very proud that the people working in motorcycle racing volunteer to give up their time just days before a crucial race, when tensions must be running high to say the least!
Hundreds of you every year are lucky enough to see and even speak to your heroes but we do not claim, or in any way guarantee, that everyone will be able to do this. It'd be lovely if we could, but Day of Champions would probably have to last a whole week to make it possible!
The privilege of the day lies much more in being able to see behind the scenes, enjoy the action on the infield and, if you booked enough in advance, to see the paddock and pit-lane.
The auction which finishes off the day is the real chance to see the riders in person. All the MotoGP riders will try to make an appearance at the auction on the infield stage, and will give something they own up for auction to help our cause.
Are there restrictions on paddock tickets again this year?
This year we are selling limited numbers of £25 access-all areas tickets, as we have to restrict numbers in the paddock for health and safety reasons. The paddock and pit-lane will not be open until 12.00 because the teams and riders need to carry on doing the work that needs to be done in the run up to race day. It is a huge privilege that the people working in the paddock allow any members of the public in at all -- you wouldn't be allowed backstage at any other sport!
Entry to the paddock and pit-lane will be through the paddock tunnel and the flow will be restricted to avoid too many people being in the tunnel at any one time. This will mean that some queuing will be necessary but we will endeavour to keep it to a minimum.
Day of Champions seems to cost a lot. Is Riders for Health being too greedy?
We hope that in comparison to many commercial events or sports-related days our Day of Champions is extremely good value.
Day of Champions is an example of sustainable fundraising: we tend to avoid rattling tins, instead we try to give you as much as we possibly can for the money you spend. But at the same time it is a hugely important part of our annual fundraising and your contribution really matters to us.
The money raised at Day of Champions makes up a huge amount of our yearly income. You may not believe it given the impressive scale of our work in Africa but we really do rely on it, in the same way that some other charities may rely on money they get from sending collection envelopes out. Our organisation achieves a great deal in Africa on a truly tiny budget. By coming to Day of Champions you are investing in Africa's future.
Need more information?
As MotoGP grows and becomes more popular so does Day of Champions, the day that started out thirteen years ago with many similarities to a village fete! As it grows there are more and more things for us to think about and organise so if you have any suggestions that are not covered by the responses above then please contact us by post or email - we would love to hear from you.
Thank you all once again for your help, encouragement and support.