Mission Motorsport’s online remembrance weekend reaches 300,000 around the globe

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Mission Motorsport’s #YourRoR weekend reaches new global audiences and raises £30,000

More fundraising activity underway means £50k target in sight

  • Mission Motorsport delivers first online Race of Remembrance weekend

  • Online events reached an audience of more than 300,000 people around the world

  • Already raised more than £30,000, with more activities to come

  • Drive-in Remembrance Service reaches charity’s beneficiary population at home  

The Covid pandemic forced Mission Motorsport to take its annual Race of Remembrance online, but the event has been a resounding success, culminating in an innovative drive-in service of remembrance that was watched online by people across the world.

#YourRoR was developed to engage and inspire beneficiaries, supporters and anybody interested in Mission Motorsport’s charitable work to come together as one community, online and in a Covid safe way. Held over Remembrance weekend, the event included:

  • Friday night with Natalie Pinkham – a live question and answer session where a Mission Motorsport team, including a beneficiary of the charity, chatted to Natalie about F1, Covid, mental health and more. They fielded questions from beneficiaries and other viewers as the interview was streamed live via social media.

     

  • On Saturday, Pain on the Plain saw ‘SAS - Who Dares Wins’ presenter Jason Fox put a group of staff and trustees from the Mission Motorsport team, all dressed in ridiculous outfits, through their paces in the mud for a fundraiser.  ‘Foxy’ was medically discharged from the SBS and Royal Marines suffering from PTSD, and he has worked tirelessly to remove the stigma surrounding mental health problems in the military.

  • Sunday delivered an online race of remembrance, with teams including beneficiaries competing in an online iRacing 6 hour race joined by famous names including Tom Ingram and Matthew Gallagher. The event was streamed live on WTF1 and the ‘voice of Le Mans’ John Hindhaugh and the Radio LeMans team provided commentary.

     

  • The highlight of the weekend was a drive-in remembrance service at Thruxton Circuit, with a Military piper, padre, military wives choir lead singer and speeches. The event was screened on BBC News and streamed to a huge audience online, including those competing in challenges.  

     

  • A second service was held at Silverstone Circuit, when the British GT Race meeting paused for the 11am silence; former F1 World Champion Jensen Button, soldiers from 3 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps and veterans from Mission Motorsport laid wreaths, live on Sky TV.

     

  • Tens of Mission Motorsport volunteers got involved in their own fundraising activities, including Top Gear’s Chris Harris and journalist Andrew Frankel, both RoR alumni, whose elderly 2CV grudge match is raising awareness of, and funds for the Service charity.

     

  • An online auction, including amazing lots such as a pair of Lando Norris overalls worn during his 2019 F1 season, is live and will close on Sunday 15th November.

     

#YourRoR was created to replace the charity’s annual Race of Remembrance (RoR), which takes place every remembrance weekend at the Trac Mon circuit in Anglesey, North Wales. Covid made a gathering of so many people in North Wales impossible. However, as a forces charity mainly funded by donations, ROR is the highlight of the year and cancelling the event lost the charity over £50,000 in output for beneficiaries and funding.

Jim Cameron, CEO at Mission Motorsport, said: “Covid has made life difficult this year but we were determined to provide our community with a remembrance service and to come together, even if in a virtual space, for this incredibly important event. We missed Anglesey and our plans had to keep changing hourly as new Covid regulations were introduced, but keeping our beneficiaries, employees, volunteers and supporters safe was and always will be paramount.

“Despite the challenges, we are thrilled with the success of our online activities. Once again, our team, supporters and celebrity friends came together to pull something really quite special out the bag. There are many more fundraising activities to take place and the big online auction is still running, so we are well on the way to hit our £50k target. Moving everything online has not just kept everyone safe but allowed us to engage with a much broader audience, so we’ll learn lessons to develop and enhance RoR for future years.” 

John Hindhaugh said: “I’ve been involved in every Race of Remembrance, and this year did not disappoint. The online iRacing event was organised superbly and beautifully reflected the racing, camaraderie and atmosphere that exists at the Anglesey Circuit every Remembrance weekend. The liveries were glorious, the guys at YearOne were exceptional and the response from people around the world has been phenomenal. We absolutely must do another online Race of Remembrance next year, as well as a return to Anglesey for a race and remembrance service. This year’s pitside remembrance service at Thruxton was as uplifting and moving as the pitside remembrance services that we love to attend in Anglesey. What a race to remember!”

 

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