Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128336
in Motorcycling RIDERS ON THE STORM The biggest sto rm - since the first Day of Champions at Donington Park in 1992 didn't sto p a posse of MotoGP sta rs and fans from raising abo ut $250 ,000 for Riders for Health 's wo rk in Africa. The American contingent was strong, with Proton's Kurtis Roberts joining brother KennyJr., and father Kenny (instr ume ntal in establishing Day of Champions all those years ago). Nicky Hayden , jazzed from a pod ium at the Sachsenr ing - and curious about this unique moto charity - got big cheers as Randy Mamola and Toby Moody auctioned his prized riding gear in Donington's Exhibition Hall. Former World Superb ike champion Colin Edwards and wife Alyssia have quietly supported "Riders" for years , say volunteers Gary Maglone and Martin Newman; they once handed Riders a plain brown envelop e bulgingwith cash. A fan persistent ly offered him a thousand pounds ($ 1700) for a set of his leathers. Finally, Edwards said, 'Add 50 percent, and I'llgive it to Riders for Health ." Pumped after his appearance on the auction block, Team Suzuki's John Hopk ins always donates bits like helmets, eve n though sponsor Red Bull does n't cover it. "Ilook forward to Donington every year," Hopk ins said. "Day of Champions is great. It's for the best of causes . Meeting people from different countries here - and travelling in general to Africa and Brazil - it changes your mind about a lot of things." Ever the GP Circus , Day of Champions has introduced such phenomena as Gary Rothwell to the stunting world . This year Extreme MX teams stunned crowds with lots of nac-nac jumps your mother doesn't want you trying anywhere. Imagine a four-wheeler powered by a Honda CBR600RRmotor, des igned by a World-rallying wizard . The hot buggies were a genuine crowd pleaser, and nobody was surprised when Ruben Xaus tied for first place in an exhibition race . As usual, Riders co-founder Randy Mamola raised cash by flying customers around Donington on the howling Ducat i two -seater. Others paid sidecar racers to reduce themselves to tearfu l jellyas passengers. Why is Day of Champions so important? "It' s not Africa's fault it missed the Industr ial Revolution," says Riders for Health Operations Directo r Mohale Moshoeshoe. Historically Africa has been mo re a site of e xtraction (of slaves, diamonds, gold) , than of investment. In fact, corrupt lending in the I970s-80s petrodollar era means Africa now remits mo re mon ey in loan repayments each year than is invested there. Compared to the history of other continents, this is a travesty. Economists like Harvard 's Jeffrey Sachs rightly decry this, dem anding roads and other infrastructure be built in Africa. "But we 're disappointed in these plans," says Andrea Coleman , ex plaining that such top-down thinkers do n't analyse rural transport problems thoroughly. " Riders has a proven method of health delivery, using app ropriate transport like motorcycles and other vehicles." On his second visit to Day of Champions was Steve Os aghae, a key staff member in autonomous Riders for Health Nigeria. Osaghae says the polio eradication pro gram , begun half a decade ago with assistance from Rotary International and the World Health Organization has been "very, very successful." Nurse practitioners sometimes rely on friends in Villages to convince doubters among other ethnic groups that vaccines are safe. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Lesotho, the mountain kingdom that is home to Moshoeshoe, in the past hosted the Rider's for Health pilot project with long-run ning Kawasakis. "It wouldn't have happened if Riders for Health were still there," said Barry Coleman, chief executive of operations. "W hatever you hear on American Television, Africans don' t have a hangup about condoms. The problem is that they don't have condoms since Imperial Car Hire got a monopoly in Lesotho ." The mania for privatisation let this private company get a lock on Lesotho's formerly public health system. Loris Capirossi and wife kissing babies with Riders for Health staff member Jeane«e Wragg (on Laris' left) at the Day of Champions Auction . Antin Ducati's Neil Hodgson signing autographs. 92 AUGUST 11 ,2004 • CYCLE NEWS 40th Anniversary