Ever since 1983, dirt bikes have been blasting down the sea front at Weston-Super-Mare once a year at the end of the summer season, to become a fantastic tradition of madness which also helps give a boost to an otherwise quiet coastal town at the start of autumn.
Words: Ben Rumbold
Back in the day, of course, it was just one three-hour mess that included not only solos but also Quads and Sidecars on-track at the same time! Your author had the biggest crash of his life to a veering sidecar in the late 1990s!
These days it is a lot more civilised with the Adult Solo race staying on the Sunday with its traditional three-hour blast at 1pm, but with the Quads & Sidecars negotiating the beach at 1pm on Saturday, and further races for Youth riders filling out a five-race programme over the weekend!
The 40th Anniversary celebrations are revved up this year by the involvement of the Hillbilly Nation army which will host a mad drag race on the beach on Saturday night in a truly wild “run whatcha brung” spectacular!
Just to acknowledge the elephant in the room, the date clash with the MXGP at Matterley is something that was not down to RHL Activities, the organisers of the Beach Race for the 21st Century, as the date for the event is set by tidal times and consultation with the local council, some 18 months in advance. It was the MXGP that changed its date and RHL are simply unable to move theirs to avoid the clash. It is a shame, but there it is. Some may go to both, meaning that Saturday might be busier than normal!
The Youth 125 & 250 class race starts proceedings on Saturday at the sharp time of 9am! National championship level riders such as Jak Taylor, Alfie Smith, the Corke twins Max & George, plus Monster Mountain British Champs 125 round winner Max Smith, will go bar-to-bar for the win in their 90-minute thrash. Watch out also for European Girl’s Champion and rising WMX star Lucy Barker to show her speed amongst the boys!
That’s followed by the Youth 65cc class at 11am, for a 75-minute race which includes quite possibly the fastest 7-10 year-old in the country, defending Weston Champion Casey Lister, who will wear the #1 plate! He will have strong competition from Jett Gardiner, Tyler Peaty, and Nixon Coppins, son of former GP winner Josh.
The Quad & Sidecar race will then fire off at 1pm on Saturday, with its usual three-hour mix of madness and mayhem, and defending Quad Champion Carl Bunce will look to add to his title haul with Jonny Kelly, Jack Naylor, and Oliver Sansom all keen to grab that #1 plate from him! There are classes for 2-Man Quads – they change riders at every pit stop, not ride together – and for farm-working 4WD Quads as well!
Defending Sidecar Champions David Williams and William Green will be looking for another win, but some of the biggest challenges for the sidecars will be picking through the carnage on the freshly-carved early lap dunes. Get yourself down the end of the start straight, you will not regret it!
Sunday dawns early at 10am with the Big-Wheel & Small-Wheel 85cc riders getting their 90-minute race in, and again it’s full of top-level racers including two-time winner Alfie Geddes-Greene, Drew Stock, and AX Fest winner Harry Lee in the BWs. The SW contingent stars Jenson Severn and Lucas Lee, 2nd & 3rd in the British Championships, with Riley-Ray Barrow and Archie Butterfield also ones to watch.
Then it’s the three-hour blast on Sunday for the Adult Solos class, and the big red plate with the #1 on it is likely to lead them down the beach, with Todd Kellett going for a record sixth win in the solo class. The only other rider to win five, David Knight, is entered as #1001 (a four-digit race number? Anything goes at Weston!), but the main competition is likely to come from Dragon Tek/Monster Energy Yamaha teammate Milko Potisek, the Frenchman who has twice won Le Touquet and just lost out to Todd in this year’s big French race and Sand Racing Championship. He is signed up for the next three years so he is committed to building his speed at a race which bears no resemblance to Le Touquet. In Milko’s own words, the only thing that is the same is the sea! The team has a striking alloy tank that is a prototype for this race. Let’s just say that DT might look at it and get flash-backs from 1990!
Former winner Ashley Greedy is also back put and competing, but the big headliner is Enduro star Billy Bolt, fresh from his AX Fest SuperEnduro win, although his bike situation is chaotic to say the least in the build up to the race! Other top national racers to look for include #5 Tommy Alba, #8 Jamie Wainwright who loves the beach and will wheel out the same 6-speed 450 KTM as last year, plus teenage speedsters Bailey Johnston and Tyler Westcott who could upset the apple cart if the specialists hit trouble. Enduro runner Dan Mundell will also be looking to get amongst them to improve on his 6th from last year.
Of course you always have a massive cast of characters at the Beach and the added attraction of yours truly, Ben Rumbold, on the microphone with my good buddy Stuart Flockhart giving his experienced take on proceedings as well. You can’t beat that rush of the start, the struggles in the sand, and the otherworldy sensation of the constant flat-out engine noise from the main straight all through the race. Quite simply, there is nothing quite like Weston! Come and join us on the Beach!
Pre-sale tickets are no longer available but you can still pay at the gate, up to £60 for a weekend Adult pass or £30 for either Saturday or Sunday. Full pricing available here: RHL Activities » Events in motion
