Motorbike fans from across the north-east have managed to rev up more than £10,000 for the ARCHIE Foundation, the official charity of the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital (RACH).
Aberdeen dad Andy Freeman had been having a coffee at Knockhill racing circuit with professional biking legends John McGuinness, Dennis Hobbs and Niall Mackenzie when he came up with the idea for a small meet-and-greet event for fans in Aberdeen.
But the event, which started off as a planned afternoon in a pub to raise a couple of hundred pounds for ARCHIE, quickly went up to top gear and almost sold out the city’s Beach Ballroom – raising a total of £13,500 in the process.
Thanks to charitable biking aficionados from the region emptying their pockets at the event, sick children staying at RACH will soon be able to benefit from a raft of ongoing improvements at the hospital carried out by the charity.
Mr Freeman, who masterminded the evening, is already now planning next year’s event.
He said: “In my head the first idea was about 100 people in a pub in Aberdeen with a collection tin, to raise a couple of hundred pounds.
“But in the end we sold close to 700 tickets in total, it was mad. The grand total will all go to ARCHIE.
“The best thing is it gives us the excuse to run it next year as well. There’s obviously a huge level of interest, so we’re going to make it an annual event, and hopefully with even more famous bike racers up to Aberdeen.
Sponsored by the Ecosse Motorcycles dealership, the money raised will support youngsters from all across the north of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland, not just Aberdeen, who receive treatment at the hospital.
Claire Bush, fundraising manager for ARCHIE said: “This will help us to make such a big difference for many children in RACH.
“We sincerely thank Andy, Martin from Ecosse Motorcycles, Honda Racing and of course the motorcycling stars who were brilliant on the night.
“We hope to see them all again next year.”