The Day of Champions was another huge success in 2022, raising an impressive sum of money for Two Wheels for Life, the official charity of MotoGP™. The Day of Champions is always a highlight of the GP and takes place on the Thursday preceding track action, with the main auction joined by a host of other actions on the day and extending across the weekend.
This year, main Day of Champions auction raised an incredible £77,550 in just five hours, and it's expected there will be a significant extra amount of funds raised by generous MotoGP™ fans across the weekend from another auction on Saturday, along with other activities like the helmet park.
Riders from MotoGP™, Moto2™ and Moto3™ were involved in the Day of Champions auction, with a huge range of unique memorabilia up for sale from a host of past and present stars of the sport – with many riders taking to the Main Stage to take part in the sale of their own donations to the auction.
The amount raised is a truly fantastic result for the charity which helps fund vital medical work in some of the poorest and most remote areas of Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria and The Gambia, via local-led and managed programmes on the ground.
The highlights of the live auction included the sale of the chequered flag used to end the final race of nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi's career at Valencia in 2021. Signed by Rossi and with a certificate of authenticity, the flag sold for a stunning £4500. Other key items sold included a signed Kenny Roberts Snr crash helmet worn at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed and two chances to be on the MotoGP™ grid this weekend – each of which raised £3800 each.
There’s a second Two Wheels for Life auction on Saturday evening on the Main Stage and there are various other fundraising activities around Silverstone across the weekend, with the full total raised to be revealed following the event.
Andrea Coleman, Two Wheels for Life CEO and founder: "We couldn't be happier with the way Day of Champions has gone. As always, the kindness and generosity of Two Wheels for Life supporters, MotoGP, and all of the teams and riders who help us out is exceptional.
"We fully appreciate these are difficult financial times for many people so to see such a large crowd and so many people willing and able to help out Two Wheels for Life to enable us to really help those most in need is fantastic.
"As always, the Two Wheels for Life volunteers, without whom we couldn't do any of these events, have been incredibly generous with their time and help. They are fantastic people who assist us so much."