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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDavid Coulthard speaks at the fundraising dinner held in Melbourne. Image: Ben Waterworth<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDavid Coulthard speaks at the fundraising dinner held in Melbourne. Image: Ben Waterworth<\/p>\n
Held during the Australian Grand Prix and attended by leading figures from across motorsport, the event highlighted the growing global reach of the charity founded by Sir Jackie Stewart.<\/p>\n
His son Mark Stewart, Chairperson of the Trustees for Race Against Dementia, said the local support reflects a longstanding connection between the Stewart family and Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father has always had a great relationship with this part of the world in Australia, and the Tasman series when he was racing out here with Jim Clark and Graham Hill originally,\u201d Stewart told Speedcafe.<\/p>\n
More than 400 attendees contributed around $500,000, which was doubled through Dementia Australia matching the funds.<\/p>\n
The Melbourne dinner was one of several events held globally by Race Against Dementia, which is an official Formula 1 charity.<\/p>\n
While similar initiatives have taken place in Singapore, the UK and Monaco, Stewart said the welcome in Australia was \u201cunbelievable\u201d and was one he wished to continue down under.<\/p>\n
The charity, now in its 10th year, was founded after Stewart\u2019s wife, Helen, was diagnosed with dementia.<\/p>\n
It focuses on accelerating research through a model inspired by motorsport itself \u2014 speed, innovation, and collaboration \u2014 with the ultimate goal of finding a cure for dementia, and the funds raised have already proven impactful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn that 10 years, what we do is we find young researchers. Essentially young. We give them five year fellowships,\u201d Stewart explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo five years and we pay for their first five years. And often what happens, they do such a great job, they start running after their five years, they\u2019re running in a whole new department.\u201d<\/p>\n
That approach has helped amplify the impact of funds raised, with initial investments often attracting significantly more support from external backers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019ve done as a charity, let\u2019s say we raised 20 million, is you could probably times that by five in terms of what else and the money we\u2019ve brought in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The organisation is also tapping into Formula 1 expertise to accelerate research.<\/p>\n
Partnerships with teams and technical specialists have already delivered tangible results.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got one of their predictive technology people working together with one of our fellows in London,\u201d Stewart added.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we\u2019re already speeding up the process of a test in a petri dish, which would normally give you answers in weeks, and then give it to you in days now.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we can do like eight times as many tests eight times as quickly. So it\u2019s really exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
High-profile support has been critical, with figures from F1 and other sports lending their voice to the cause, including Stefano Dominicalli, Sir Alex Ferguson, and David Beckham.<\/p>\n
For Stewart, the initiative\u2019s origins remain deeply personal.<\/p>\n
He described his mother as central not only to his father\u2019s racing career but also to the motivation behind the charity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean this was done because of my mum. And she was an amazing woman. An amazing support to my father,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is a part of his story. She\u2019s the world champion as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The broader mission though extends beyond a single family.<\/p>\n
Stewart highlighted both the urgency of finding a cure and the potential for prevention through deeper understanding of the disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is it one in three people today born today will die with dementia? Why is that? Is it environmental? Is it the gut? And we\u2019re starting to see some interesting data on that. Data is everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The impact of dementia has also been felt strongly within the Australian motorsport community, particularly with the passing of touring car legend Allan Moffat last year after a long battle with the disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n For Stewart and Race Against Dementia, the focus now is on building momentum, funding research, and expanding global reach.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will find a cure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd start understanding and prevention, and how people can live a healthy life.\u201d<\/p>\n
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