Exclusive MotoGP paddock pass auction for Riders for Health With less than two weeks until the hotly anticipated 2012 MotoGP season kicks-off in Qatar, MotoGP and the Championship’s official charity – Riders for Health – are offering fans the chance to bid for exclusive ‘premium paddock passes’ in a series of online auctions at www.riders.org Excitement is building for the new MotoGP season as 2012 will see the introduction of the new 1000cc motorcycle engines. The grid size will also be increasing due to the arrival of several privateer teams making this year the most exciting championship for years. Thanks to a generous donation from MotoGP, you could be watching all the action from inside the exclusive MotoGP paddock. The auction for the first race at Qatar on 5th- 8th April closes at 22.00 (GMT +1) on Sunday 1st April so make sure you visit ~http://riders.org/auction.aspx~ today to place your bid. MotoGP have donated a pair of paddock passes for each race on the calendar and every race has its own auction so fans can choose to bid for the one closest to them. Alternatively, why not choose from one of the 18 international destinations visited by MotoGP and turn the race weekend into a holiday? Paddock passes for the first six races up to the British MotoGP at Silverstone on 15th-17th June are available now at ~http://riders.org/auction.aspx~. Keep a look out on the Riders for Health website as the remaining races will be added soon. All of the money raised from the sale of the passes will support Riders for Health’s ground-breaking programmes in Africa and help to change the lives of millions of people. These extremely limited passes are available exclusively on the Riders for Health website so, for a once in a lifetime chance to experience behind the scenes of MotoGP, visit ~http://riders.org/auction.aspx~ to place a bid. In 2011 the sale of paddock passes raised an incredible £24,000 for Riders programmes. This support will help to mobilise health workers across seven countries in Africa with reliable motorcycles and train local technicians so that the vehicles never break down. Every year the support of MotoGP and its fans helps Riders for Health to reach thousands of families across Africa with life-saving health care. Please note: the auctions are only for paddock passes and do not include flights or accommodation. These paddock passes allow access to the race circuit and paddock for the whole race weekend, they do not give access to any hospitality suites or grandstands. Filming is not allowed in the paddock area. For more information please email [email protected]. A list of GPs and the auction end dates for the first half of the season: [The online auctions for GPs from Assen, Netherlands, onwards and their closing dates will be released at a later date. All auctions close at 22:00 GMT+1.] Losail, Qatar End date: 01/04/2012 Jerez, Spain End date: 15/04/2012 Estoril, Portugal End date: 22/04/2012 Le Mans, France End date: 06/05/2012 Catalunya, Spain End date: 20/05/2012 Silverstone, Great Britain End date: 03/06/2012