27/06/2013 00:00
TW
0
By Humphrey Carter

PALMA
CALVIA Councillor for Tourism and Foreign Affairs, Kate Mentink has just returned from the British Motorcycling Grand Prix where she not only enjoyed the ride of a lifetime but also raised over 6'000 euros for the world famous bikers' charity Riders For Health.

On Saturday, after no less than eight accidents in pouring rain on the wet circuit at Donington Park in the qualifying rounds for Sunday's GP, Mentink was taken for two spins round the track on the back of 800cc Ducati on which Casey Stoner won last year's MotoGP championship.

Driving was former world champion and one of the founding fathers of the world famous charity Randy Mamola, who, along with the rest of the team, was against taking to the circuit in the driving rain. “I've not come all this way not to ride,” Mentink told her colleagues, and that was that. Off she went perched on the back of three Ducati at speeds of up to 275 kilometres per hour in front of a crowd of over 50'000. During the four-day GP meet, Riders for Health raised over 250'000 pounds through auctions and various other events but the highlight is always the charity run which has also featured the likes of Michael Schumacher risking his life for charity.

Over the weekend, Mentink met a number of key riders such as Spain's world champion Dani Pedrosa and managers including that of the legendary Valentino Rossi, and mooted the idea of organising a Riders for Health fund raising event at the Lluchmajor race circuit next year.

Pedrosa was quick to lend his full support but, as Mentink says, it will take some organising and will also have to fit in with the MotoGP's tight schedule.

The patron of Riders for Health is Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, and it is an award-winning social enterprise working to make sure all health workers in Africa have access to reliable transportation - motorbikes - so they can reach the most isolated and vulnerable people with regular and predictable health care.

Last week Mentink admitted that she was a bit nervous but on her return, she said it was an experience of a lifetime and well worth all the effort and training. To help the charity visit www.riders.org.