Donington's Day of Champions a success.

The now traditional 'Day of Champions' prelude to the Cinzano British Grand Prix took place at the Donington Park circuit yesterday, and crowds packed the Derbyshire racetrack in their thousands, despite heavy downpours late in the afternoon.

The event saw a deluge of fans entering the normally off-limits paddock, in order to raise money for MotoGP charity, Riders for Health. For a small fee, of which all proceeds will go to the aid organisation, the public could wander through the beating heart of MotoGP, and meet riders in the flesh as they went about their business of preparing for Sunday's eighth race of the 2002 season.

Although official attendance figures will not be known until later today, the tenth anniversary of the event was clearly more successful than ever before, with an unrelenting stream of spectators entering the track, and the dark clouds unable to deter the action either. While interviews and quizzes took place under cover in the marquee area, back on the track the usual scooter competition between the stars of the MotoGP scene took place, with the experienced British line-up of Jeremy McWilliams, Leon Haslam, Jay Vincent and 125cc motocross world champion Jamie Dobb running out winners in a frenetic battle.

Once again, the famous Day of Champions auction saw big bids raining in for riders' helmets, leathers and other kit, while an online auction at the Riders for Health website received bids of over ?1000 for rides with Randy Mamola on the two-seater Yamaha bike around the twisty Donington track which will be graced by the MotoGP stars over the weekend. Many other shows and events kept everyone entertained, yet all the time the focus remained on the fundraising aspect of the day.

"I believe in the cause of Riders for Health strongly, and am one of the senior riders to be involved," commented Italian MotoGP idol and long-time servant of the motorcycle charity, Max Biaggi, "I always try to give all my support and the auction was very enjoyable once again."

However, from today, Biaggi's focus will be on Sunday's race and toppling rival Valentino Rossi's hegemony.

"I'm quite enthusiastic about Donington," the Yamaha rider said, "Although I wasn't at my level in Assen, it was looking good before that, and I just hope for a race in dry conditions like probably every other rider."

The arrival of MotoGP in Donington Park marks the halfway point in the 2002 season and, with Rossi 62 points clear of his nearest rival Tohru Ukawa, the rest of the pack need to begin winning races now in order to cling on to any hope of deposing the champion.

Rossi celebrates his hundredth GP this weekend, all of them consecutive, and, if he were to win his seventh race of the year on Sunday, it would notch up victory number 46 for the Italian - his famous number. With a great deal of support from the crowd, Rossi may get the extra lift needed to hold off likely challenges from Alex Barros, Carlos Checa, Biaggi and Ukawa. However, with attendance figures set to reach unprecedented levels this weekend, whatever happens it will certainly be a Cinzano British Grand Prix to remember.