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/128390
~~Happe-----'-------ningS~in Mo~torcyc~ling Rider!i For Health Rai!ie!i $310. ODD at Day of I:hampion!i Riders For Health's 13th annual Day of Champions at Donington Park, was better than ever. Two weeks after grand prix racing returned to Laguna Seca, thousands of fans met the stars close up in England. As MotoGP's official charity, Riders For Health gets support from the entire racing paddock. Sporting an orange RFH wristband, Dorna official Paco Latorre of race organizer Dorna, says, "Riders is close to our hearts, and MotoGP does everything it can because it helps Africa." A record total of over $310,000 was raised by the end of the British MotoGP weekend. Fans got value for their money in RFH wristbands, shirts and hats with their unmistakable African tiretracks logo (see them on www.riders.org). Participating racers took them on sidecar and bus rides on Donington's undulating 2.2-mile course. In the Ride-In, nearly 400 riders and pillions paid for the privilege of following grand prix and British Superbike star Niall Mackenzie for two laps around the track. Clowns and vendors contributed to the carnival atmosphere. Families were delighted by extreme trials and stunt riders putting on a show on the front straight. Many gathered autographs on team posters, while parents gave their kids a whiff 84 AUGUST 10,2005 • CYCLE NEWS of two-stroke exhaust from the stunt show. This year's action was focused on the infield stage, from the morning interviews until the world-famous auction. Top journalists such as julian Ryder and Toby Moody competed against racers and MCN (Malar Cycle News) staffers in the Super Anorak GP trivia quiz. Rock band WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) entertained the crowd playing a mixture of their own songs and covers of Metallica and Nirvana. The American contingent got its best reception in years. Colin Edwards, fresh from a second at the U.S. GP, was as popular as ever at Donington. Edwards' fourth place on Sunday boosted his chances for a top-three position at the end of the season. Asked why he and wife A1yssia began contributing to Riders For Health years ago while winning two World Superbike crowns, the Texas Tornado answered, "Why not? It's a good cause." At the auction, Edwards threw a passel of hats and shirts to the crowd before his leathers and boots went to the gavel. Kenny Roberts jr. admitted the only thing he's beaten Valentino Rossi to lately was a press conference. But plenty of fans cheered when KRjR took second in Sunday's rain race. Fellow Suzuki rider john Hopkins auctioned off a Red Bull-painted helmet and his Alpinestars leathers. Nicky Hayden, maiden winner at the U.S. GP, entertained the crowd with his Kentucky wit while his teammate Max Biaggi sat and relaxed on stage. MotoGP racers are sometimes pilloried as spoiled prima donnas, but their poise at this public event earned respect from fans who realize how pressured they are to perform on the track. Ducati star Loris Capirossi, the epitome of all things Italian and racy, found time to admire a fan's Aprilia 250 that looked like one he used to ride in the 250cc Grand Prix class. Every racer in the MotoGP paddock added something to the show, but the star was Valentino Rossi. Whether you call him the Doctor, the Professor - or V1ad the Impaler - Rossi is bigger in MotoGP than Michael Schumacher is in F I car racing. His winning lap times on soggy Sunday, three seconds faster than Roberts, Barros and Edwards, showed how special he is. His racing kit, portraits and a scale-model Yamaha M I fetched mighty prices in the auction. A little history suggests a path to a better future. In the 1985 Band Aid concerts, Bob Geldof, U2 and other bands raised cash to relieve famine in Ethiopia. In the july 2005 Live 8 concerts, Geldof and U2's Bono joined Madonna, Pink Floyd, Sting and Snoop Dogg in London, and Will Smith, Bon jovi, Stevie Wonder and others in Philadelphia to raise political consciousness. They challenged the Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations meeting in Edinburgh to make poverty history in Africa. The Day of Champions fund-raiser is loosely modeled on Live Aid. Mohale Moshoeshoe says some rock stars have a "dim" understanding of poverty. But it's to their credit that Geldof and Bono join the Group of 22 developing countries in condemning export subsidies by rich countries as a chief cause of poverty among Third World farmers. The G8 countries have the power to reform these rules in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Terrorism was an ugly word that was heard in London's transport system on july 7. During Day of Champions, july 21 , terrorists struck again with a failed attempt and, fortunately, no loss of life. Ducati racer