The Roadracing World Action Fund has given Most Valuable Contributor awards to Brooks Gremmels of Shogun Motorsports, Mr. & Mrs. Fred Bittner, Mark Brereton and Marcus McBain for their extraordinary efforts and contributions.

A strong supporter and frequent contributor to the 2001 Airfence Campaign, Brooks Gremmels and Shogun Motorsports showed enthusiastic recommitment to the cause of motorcycle racing safety with a donation of $10,000 in December of 2004, marking the largest lump-sum contribution from a for-profit corporation ever received by the Action Fund. Most Valuable Contributor honoree Gremmels’ grand total now stands at an amazing $14,150.

Fred and Adrienne (Eckart) Bittner have made it a point to donate the equivalent of a single section of soft barrier, or $2900, each year since 2002. That first year’s contribution was made in honor of Papa Thiam, who was seriously injured at Summit Point. In 2003, they once again donated $2900, along with $450 for dirt track soft barriers. With that second donation, racer Fred wrote: “Like many others, my wife and I continue to find the news about injuries sustained by road racers as a result of contact with unprotected barriers troubling. We therefore decided to make an additional contribution to the Roadracing World Action Fund, and consider it an investment in the future safety of road racers. I would like to note that I am racing this year, and am very gratified to see that several of the manufacturers and service providers whose goods and services I use also support the Fund. Nevertheless, I would be very proud to be able to say that all the companies and organizations associated with my racing program have contributed to the Fund. To this end, I am in the process of contacting nearly 100 organizations in an effort to encourage them to do just that.” Then in 2004, when author C. Edward Link auctioned a racer-autographed copy of The Little Motorcycle on eBay and pledged the proceeds to the Roadracing World Action Fund, the Bittners posted the winning bid of $415, then quickly followed up with a contribution of $2485, the amount needed to make it the full $2900 for a complete section of soft barrier, designating the section for dirt track use.

For their generosity and commitment to the cause of race track safety through their efforts and donations totally $9150 to the Action Fund, the Bittners have earned the Most Valuable Contributor designation.

Marcus McBain has become a Most Valuable Contributor, with a Roadracing World Action Fund four-year total contribution of $5785 ($5025 plus $760 as winner of an eBay auction benefiting the Action Fund.) At first donating as an individual in 2001, McBain expanded his support by donating a portion of the profits from his business, Racing Performance Services, steadily making contributions several times each year. For consistently supporting and spreading the word for the cause of promoting motorcycle racing safety, McBain deserves this important recognition as Most Valuable Contributor.

Filmmaker Mark Brereton, whose popular WERA-track, racer’s view action DVD RoadRACE became the cornerstone of a 2-year fundraising drive for the Roadracing World Action Fund, is the next inductee to the exclusive club of Most Valuable Contributor award recipients. Pledging $5.00 per DVD sold, Brereton has raised $4015 to date. With a follow-up DVD to RoadRACE due for release early this year, Brereton has pledged to continue to donate a portion of the proceeds to the Roadracing World Action Fund.

Brooks Gremmels, Fred & Adrienne Bittner, Marcus McBain and Mark Brereton join previously honored Max McAllister of Traxxion Dynamics as Most Valuable Contributors.

On behalf of everyone who has crashed on a racetrack and slid or flown into a soft barrier instead of a hard surface–and on behalf of everyone who may in the future do the same–we thank them.