The KTM Ride 4 Kids took place at the Broadford State Motorcycle Complex in Victoria on Sunday, 23 October, raising vital funds for Challenge, which is an organisation that provides programs and services to kids with cancer.

This year’s event raised between $30,000-$35,000 for Challenge, with the official JDR Motorex KTM factory race team on hand to join the fun just one day after sweeping the first round of the Super X, Australasian Supercross Championship in Melbourne on Saturday night.

The highest overall fundraiser was Cooper Humm with almost $10,500 raised. For his efforts, he received a 2012 model KTM 350 EXC-F, plus the Andrew McFarlane Perpetual Trophy in memory of the JDR Motorex KTM’s champion racer.

Since the program began in 2002, Ride 4 Kids has raised over $400,000 through rider entries, lunchtime auctions of motocross memorabilia and donations.

Ride 4 Kids organiser Matt Manning said that it was a great event, with a strong turnout of around 170 riders and plenty of happy faces riding and taking in the atmosphere on the day.

“Matt Moss and Brenden Harrison rode lap after lap with all the juniors, who just couldn’t believe their luck to have these Aussie icons next to them on the track,” Manning said.

“The biggest highlight however was when we put young Jess Cosgriff on the bikes for a rider with Matt and Brenden for several laps each. At one point her smile almost didn’t fit in her helmet. I think the boys were also just as touched by the opportunity.

“We ended up with around $30K raised, which will go directly to Challenge to assist them in running the support programs for kids living with various types of cancer.”

JDR Motorex KTM’s rising star Brenden Harrison said that the experience was one that he’ll never forget, looking forward to having the opportunity to support the charity again in the future.

“It was a really good day and great to see the smiles on the kids faces – I loved it,” 22-year-old Queenslander Harrison said. “Riding with the kids and sharing the experience on the day was awesome and something that I can’t wait to be a part of again in the years to come.”

KTM Australia general manager Jeff Leisk said the brand is proud to be associated with Ride 4 Kids and Challenge.

“It’s good to be able to use our industry to support Challenge and we are committed to it for the long haul,” Leisk explained. “As a company, it’s good to win races, but you feel even better being involved in something like this. If we can help the kids and the parents, it’s better than winning any race.

“It was great to get the JDR team there to participate and have our KTM riders provide some thrills for the kids. It was a great weekend for us, doing so well on Saturday night, and then to have some fun on Sunday and help raise money with the Ride 4 Kids event.”

The JDR Motorex KTM team will now head to Wollongong’s WIN Stadium this weekend for round two of the Super X, Australasian Supercross Championship, on Saturday, 29 October.

For further information on supporting Challenge through fund raising and events, call 03 9329 8474 or visit www.challenge.org.au.