Superbikes Help Super Charity

28 July 2023

SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity is getting a helping hand from the Thruxton Superbike Championships. Thruxton Circuit invite the charity every year to the event to help raise awareness of the work the charity does and also much needed funds for the Hampshire veteran community.

Lorne Mitchener, Sales Manager at Thruxton Circuit said: “It has been a pleasure to assist SSAFA Hampshire. Without the Armed Forces there would be no Thruxton, bearing in mind that the Circuit layout is the old RAF airfield roadways joined up to make a track. Thruxton is truly humbled that the very little we can offer plays some role in the amazing work that SSAFA does.”

SSAFA runs the biker’s cloakroom at the Bennetts British SuperBike Championship event, storing visitor’s helmets and leathers so they do not have to carry them around the event all day.

Ash Ashbridge, SSAFA Hampshire volunteer said: “SSAFA Hampshire is very grateful to Thruxton, who allow us to come every year. In the past we have raised around £1,500 from the biker’s cloakroom alone, which helps us to deliver life changing assistance to veterans in Hampshire.”

SSAFA’s fundraising at Thruxton motoring events is assisted by Guy Shepherd, a collector of military memorabilia. Guy brings various vehicles and interesting artefacts to display at the SSAFA area of the Circuit, which bring in the crowds and instigates much interest in the military and its work.

Guy said: “SSAFA is a great charity and I want to help as much as I can. I have an extensive collection of vehicles and it is great to be able to put them on display for a good cause.

“We’ll be bringing a 1997 Parachute Regiment Honda motorbike, some military quad bikes from Afghanistan, an SAS Dessert Patrol Vehicle, and a WMIK. The most exciting thing though is a captured Russian ORLAN-10 drone, which was recently brought down near Bakhmut in the Ukraine. I don’t think there is another one in the UK and it’s really interesting to see something so current, that you only usually get to see in the newspapers and on TV.”