Dorna Donates €1 Million to MotoGP Valencia Fund
MotoGP has raised €1.6 million for the Valencia recovery fund after a hefty contribution from rights holder Dorna Sports
The ‘Racing for Valencia’ recovery fund included other donations but it was that of Dorna Sports which was the most significant, as the region continues to get back on its feet after deadly flooding in late October.
Those said floods resulted in a large number of people losing their lives, while different infrastructures were heavily damaged. As a result of the disaster, MotoGP moved its finale in mid-November to Barcelona and raced for Valencia as a result, calling it the ‘Solidarity GP’.
A statement on Monday from MotoGP, said: “In lieu of simply donating the profit generated by ticket sales as part of the investment made in staging the event, Dorna has decided to increase its contribution in recognition of this collective effort and donate a full €1 million to the funds raised for Valencia.
“The €1.6 million total from all our MotoGP initiatives will now go towards the recovery of the towns closest to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Cheste and Chiva.
“They are the communities who would usually receive the positive economic impact of hosting the season finale, and those who host us year on year. Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta visited the two towns as the final donation was announced.”
Other hefty donations, aside from the fund raising MotoGP auction which saw Maverick Vinales’ Moto3 title-winning bike from 2013 sell for over £40k and a Valentino Rossi-signed helmet go for nearly £8k, €300,000 was raised onsite at the Solidarity Barcelona GP and online by charity auctions.
Teams also contributed with a €100,000 donation via IRTA and a €50,000 donation came from the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce.
Despite the finale moving to Barcelona and being organised in very short order, huge support for the final round of 2024 resulted in 134,848 fans attending the championship decider. The final Sunday of the season saw a crowd of 62,123 watch Jorge Martin clinch his first MotoGP crown.
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
