Thankfully this year it was gloriously sunny as racers and
spectators alike descended upon the normally quiet westcountry seaside
town of Weston Super Mare for a wild noisy and dirty (or should that
be 'sandy') weekend!
Steve Ramon lead from start to finish!
Due to the exorbitant charge of £20 to get in I only attended the
main solo race on Sunday - which is a real shame, as I always found
the Sidecars and quads the most 'fun' to watch - especially when mixed
in with the solos.
As usual - even after 25 years - the race started late!
9th place finisher No7 Nick Life gets underway.
This may have not seemed like an issue at 1pm, but there is an old
saying - 'time and tide wait for no man', and sure as eggs is eggs, at
about 2.30pm the tide was already racing in at a very fast rate up the
beach. But the 'official' reason the race got stopped early was
reportedly, that one of the scaffolding bridges that the riders were
racing over had become unstable!
As expected - there was plenty of sand
everywhere ;o)
Look at the pictures of the tide rising around the cars and vans,
then make your own minds up!
Pit crew vehicles going under - Was this the
real reason
the race was stopped early?
However the event was reasonably well organised. I say reasonably
because there certainly were a few notable failings - which for me the
biggest of which was that there was NO COMMENTRY for 90% of the people
watching on the beach. Which meant no one there could follow what was
going on or who was leading, etc.
After 2 hours there were endless boggy corners
to 'enjoy' ;o)
…and yes that does make it a LOT LESS INTERESTING. Lets face it
after you have seen a few hours of nameless riders struggling on
various dunes or corners, without knowing what's going on, spectating
can get a bit boring - a comment I overheard many repeat!
Edmondson started well but fell foul of a racing
incident forcing him to retire.
The organisers would do well to take note of that - or I won't be
the only one not returning next year!
Ramon showed true class as he crested the
biggest dune.
Onto the main race:
Darren Carter also showing how it should be
done!!
At about 12:50 - twenty minutes after the advertised start time -
someone shouted they're off. From 1/2 mile away down the start
straight, what initially sounded like a quiet distant drone, gradually
grew into a thunderous rapture, as literally thousands of race bikes
bore down that mile long beach straight flat out with riders hanging
on for dear life - a truly awe inspiring sight. So very, very
impressive…and what we all came to see.
Mayhem soon broke out in the dunes...
First many away down the straight was Steve Ramon (No11) from
Belgium on his 450 Suzuki 4-stroke. Close in tow and passing him at
the 3/4 mile mark was the American CAS Honda rider Mike Brown (No2).
Then immediately behind preyed swarms of screaming bikes as they all
fought at speeds up to 100mph sending sea spray and sand into the air
- and all for the glory of the first turn.
The mile long main straight strains motors for
what seems like eternity.
The noise and rush of well over 1000 dirt bikes at full throttle
seemed to last forever, as the massive line-up tore past us into the
distance - still wound on 'full chat'. Apparently literally hundreds
of riders were still in the holding pen as the traffic lights turned
green, so there are going to be a few grumbles about that for weeks to
come. But as usual all the known 'fast lads' were already on the beach
and in place lined up ready to go!
Almost there - but buried again!
There were a few disappointments from spectators hoping to see two
particular heroes - Stefan Everts and David Knight - go head to head
for another repeat battle. But unfortunatel this was not to be. Stefan
was tied up in a reality TV show which was unfortunately running 2
weeks late and as he wasn't yet voted out, at the moment he is still
in there!
Crowds watch eagerly as riders crest each big
dune.
As reported on the Dirty Biking website last week David Knight
didn't want to fall foul of his sponsors - KTM - who need him to
finish higher than 12th place in the last USA GNCC series
next the following weekend, to wrap up that championship. So risking
any kind of injury by taking part in the beach race for fun was just
out of the question.
This unfortunate Cornish rider was the first to
need the ambulance.
Even so the big race was a great spectacle, Steve Ramon was the
first to hit the big dunes half way back up the beach and was in no
mood to take prisoners. However the battle for 2nd 3rd and
4th raged throughout the day.
The tide was out, but there was plenty of very
wet sand about.
The main contenders being No6 Josh Coppins and Brad Anderson No3.
Also up there and charging hard was Ex World Enduro champ Paul
Edmondson No4, No1 Timotei Potisek and No33 Ashley Greedy.
Riders soon started getting intimate with each
other in the dunes!!
Despite huge hold-ups by 'lesser' ability riders on some of the
bigger dunes, the top guys always managed through skill and
perseverance to fight their way through. Then a potential disaster
happened…
…The main scaffold bridge providing spectator access to the beach,
became a bit to slippery for a few riders to get over. This
immediately caused a severe jam, as riders bunched up and could no
longer get the run up required. What a dilemma, this was one part of
the track that could not easily be bypassed by 'bending' a few fences
to clear it.
The scaffold bridge was too slippery for the
'not so experienced' to ride.
While riders were apparently blocking this solid, the top boys came
around to lap everyone once more, but what a battle they had trying to
ease (force) their way through, - somehow they all did it. - But it
cost some a lot more time than others!
Going up - another rider cresting a dune after a
slippery run-up.
Lots of quick thinking and hard work by the marshalls and helpers
(who by the way all did a brilliant job all day), soon saved the day
using a 'temporary measure', thus allowing the race - which was
threatening to be stopped at this point - to continue. Well done
chaps/chapesses?
The flag marshalls were kept very busy all day.
Soon after, Paul Edmondson - still on pace and catching the leaders
- got embroiled in a track situation which finally put paid to his
day. When pitting next someone who held his bike steady for a while,
said the way he was holding his stomach looked as if he must have
ended up 'gutzing' himself - so despite trying to go out and continue
again, his day was over.
Broken bike and broken hearted - another rider
does the long push back
after his engine failed at the far end of the mile long straight!
At about the 2 hour mark, Josh Coppins - who had been racing neck
and neck with Brad Anderson for lap after lap chasing second spot,
finally pulled out a small lead which he held until the race ended.
The recovery wagons were also kept busy all day!
When the flag dropped bringing the race to an early end, Steve
Ramon had ridden a brilliant race leading from start to finish - on 14
laps. Coppins came home second only 3 minutes behind, with Anderson a
further 90 seconds adrift in 3rd spot.
After failing to ride his bike out of this rut,
like so many
he had only one choice left - to get off and lift.
Although I didn't see it, two sidecar lads from Cornwall deserve a
very special mention - especially after the amount of stick they have
both taken on the forums this year - Gareth Andrews and Wayne Davey on
their Walsh-Newton-Surfacing KTM 525, absolutely dominated Saturdays
big race. With 16 laps under their belt, they had lapped everyone up
to 2nd place Dow and Hutchman - and were in fact only just
a few minutes short of lapping them also!
...Was it a great weekend? - the sun shone and the racing was good
- so yes.
Was it a very expensive weekend? - well that depends largely on
your spending power. For me personally, it was just a bit too much.
Although it was certainly a spectacle to see over a 1000 bikes on a
start line tear off at full speed. Like the previous few years -
without the Sidecars and quads in the same mix to add a bit of spice
and fun - and no longer having the spectacle of riders and bikes
parading through the town centre before the race start. - For me the
Weston Beach Race no longer has the spectator appeal it once had.
So I for one will probably give it a miss next year - unless I get
a free press pass!!
