Thousands of MotoGP™ fans flocked to Silverstone ahead of the British MotoGP to support Riders for Health’s annual fundraising event, Day of Champions, raising an incredible £216,249 [€253,562] for the organisations’ lifesaving work in Africa.

The whole MotoGP paddock came together on Thursday (29 August) to support the championships’ official charity.

"What’s fascinating about MotoGP is that it is the only sport in the world that’s ever grown a humanitarian movement, to deliver health care in Africa," says Riders for Health’s co-founder and CEO Andrea Coleman. "The fans come here because they love to see the MotoGP riders, their heroes, but they also come here to support Riders for Health because we’re showing that motorcycles save lives."

With the British MotoGP taking place later in the season this year, fans at the Day of Champions were treated to a day of glorious sunshine at Silverstone.

The gates to the exclusive MotoGP paddock and pit lane were opened to ticket holders who had the chance to walk among the team hospitality suites and technical trucks and get a glimpse into garages on the pit lane as teams prepared for the weekend’s racing. Many lucky fans even had the chance to meet their favourite riders as many of the stars stopped to pose for photographs and sign autographs.

As always, the highlight of the day was the famous Day of Champions MotoGP auction which raised a phenomenal £77,090 [€90,388] as fans bid on 108 lots in five hours. The crowd were able to see their favourite MotoGP riders as they took to the stage to give their thoughts about Sunday’s race and auction off signed personal racing memorabilia. After Valentino Rossi’s nine auction lots raised £13,250 [€15,529] in just 20 minutes, auction hosts Toby Moody and Gavin Emmett revealed that the MotoGP star and his fans have raised almost a quarter of a million pounds at Riders’ fundraising auctions over the past 10 years.

Also at the auction, MotoGP teams offered once-in-a-lifetime experiences, including a weekend in Spain with the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team and the chance to step onto the MotoGP grid before the start of Sunday’s race. The item which raised the most amount of money was a Bridgestone race tyre, signed by all of the MotoGP riders, which fetched £4,600 [€5,391]. The day also featured the spectacular sight of 150 motorcyclists – headed by Niall Mackenzie and Bradley Smith – as well as the now infamous ‘Question of Bikes’ quiz hosted by motogp.com commentator Gavin Emmett and BBC broadcasters Matt Roberts and Steve Parrish.

Earlier in the day, an exciting new competition to win a VIP MotoGP weekend to Valencia was launched on stage with a special video featuring some of the stars of MotoGP. Thanks to support from Riders for Health’s partners MotoGP, Bridgestone and MCN, the dream prize includes weekend paddock passes, grid passes for the start of the race, hospitality with MotoGP teams, the chance to meet Valentino Rossi and an invite to the End of Season party.

The competition is open globally until 14 October and entry is from as little as a £3/€3 donation to Riders for Health at www.prizeo.com/motogp.