During the 2023 ATPI FIM Women’s Speedway Academy (WSA) staged on 4-5 August at the National Speedway Stadium in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, a cheque for CHF 5,000 was presented to the Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund (SRBF) on behalf of the International Foundation for Motorcycling (IFM).
The cheque was presented by IFM Board Member Emilie Westbye and underlines the IFM and WSA’s joint and ongoing commitment to promoting the development and interests of the worldwide motorcycling community and the well-being of its participants.
Celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary this year, the SRBF – also known as the Ben Fund Bonanza – is a charity that assists former and current Speedway riders and their families following serious or life-changing injuries sustained while racing for British Speedway clubs or representing Great Britain at International-level Speedway events. Last year it raised £80,000, a figure it is on course to surpass in 2023.
The IFM was originally conceived by FIM President Jorge Viegas and officially formed in 2020 to continue the work of the FIM on a global platform in supporting socially responsible initiatives and programmes. A separate and independent body, it allows for a more targeted approach to developing activities that use sport to support projects connected to mobility, safety, education and training, promotion of women, environment and social responsibility, practice of motorcycling leisure activities and the social and historical legacy of the FIM and motorcycling.
Hence this donation is made very much within the framework that is set out in the IFM statutes that stress the importance of social responsibility programmes in addition to charitable and humanitarian projects related to the promotion and development of motorcycling in general, but with a particular focus on the advancement of women and education on this occasion.
Emilie Westbye, IFM Board Member, said: “I am delighted to present this cheque on behalf of the International Foundation for Motorcycling to the Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund. The Ben Fund Bonanza does so much great work and provides invaluable support for the Speedway community and such it is a privilege to be able to contribute to such a worthy cause.”