WSBK Charity Auction raises more than $60K for bushfire recovery

In the wake of this year’s opening round of the FIM Motul Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island, a special auction held by Charity Stars on behalf of the World Superbike community raised more than $60,000 for bushfire relief charity BlazeAid.

Before the 28 Feb - 1 Mar round, WSBK officials announced that they’d be holding an auction of rider memorabilia and related WSBK experiences to support those Australian communities devastated by this year’s bushfires.

For five-time WSBK champion Jonathan Rea, the auction had a personal connection, as his wife Tatiana is Australian and a family home in the Victorian Highlands came under threat from the fires.

In response, Rea commissioned a one-off helmet livery from renowned designer Aldo Drudi (who also designs Rossi’s helmets). Drudi’s design focused on the wildlife and plants devastated by the fires, with an Aussie flag and map on top.

Worn by Rea in the Superpole session and the opening race at Phillip Island (where it was slightly damaged in a crash and not used for the rest of the weekend), the helmet went to auction through Charity Stars, where it raised $29,735. Rea also donated his Alpinestars race boots, personalised with Australian flags, which sold for $2,160.

Other items donated for the auction included helmets from Chaz Davies and Michael Ruben Rinaldi, which sold for $7,650 and $2,940, respectively, while leathers donated by Scott Redding raised $2,745.

WSBK Championship organisers Dorna donated an exclusive ‘Behind the Scenes’ experience for a racing enthusiast at a future WSBK round, which went for a healthy $1,960.

In total, $62,105 was raised, with all the money going to help Australians impacted by the bushfires.

Speaking after the event, BlazeAid stated their joy at the success of the auction: “The World Superbike Charity Auction donation will go towards additional incident response trailers. These trailers are fully equipped with fencing repair tools, fencing materials, first aid supplies, safety gear, fuel cards, steel posts, chainsaws and powers tools.

“All items purchased make a huge difference with recovery efforts by BlazeAid and their team of volunteers.

“The BlazeAid team are extremely grateful for the donation and would like to thank everyone from the World Superbike Community for their generosity.”