Thousands of spectators poured in to Weston Super Mare for day 1 of the RHL Beach Race.
After the initial drizzle early in the day, the crowd and the riders were treated to gorgeous spring sunshine as the races got under way to mark the start of an exciting and entertaining two days of extreme racing.
First race of the weekend was the competitive Youth 125/250 class, Rob Davidson, Dan Thornhill, Nathan Dixon and Mathew Callaghan set the early pace in their 90 minute beach blast.
After 28 grueling laps it was Davidson who shook off the rest of the chasing pack to finish on top and win his first Weston title. Thornhill finished runner up just 10 seconds behind with Nathan Dixon in third.
Results 125/250 Rookies Race
The youngest and smallest riders of this years Beach Race, the 65cc class showed true grit and amazing skills to race for nearly 80 minutes in body sapping conditions on wet and extremely deep sand.
After 17 laps Sam Nunn took the victory in fine style from Tyler Rowe who managed 16 laps and Connor Lockyear just one lap behind in third.
Results 65cc Race
Carl Bunce finally shook the monkey off his back and took his first ever Quad race Weston win. Carl rode a smart race even when multi time Weston winner Paul Winrow was closing in near the end of the race. At one stage Paul closed within 12 seconds of Carl but Paul succumbed to the dreaded lack of fuel and Carl kept his cool and went on to win by nearly 1 minute. Paul had to pit and refuel but still did enough to finish in second. Sheldon Seal who celebrates his 21st birthday tomorrow put in a solid ride to finish third.
Carl Bunce: “I’ve been trying for a long time to win at Weston and today was just great. I’ve finished runner up in the last 2 years but this year I was really determined to give it my best shot. I had a few little problems at the start but kept going, the bike got hot but I wasn’t interested in second - it was the win or the bike goes bang.”
Results Quad Race
In the sidecar race the combination of David Williams and Graham Mcphee on the big KTM VMC 525 took victory from Jack Penford / Simon Rogers in the runners up spot and Steve Pannell / Chris Pannell in third.
All three sets of riders completed 18 exhausting laps on a Weston circuit that many are saying is the best ever.
Results Sidecar Race
Gareth Hockey said this at the end of a superb opening day, “Saturday has been fantastic day and quite possibly one of the best Saturdays ever. So many smiling and happy faces today and I can’t wait for Sundays races with hundreds of solo riders ready to hit the beach here at Weston Super Mare.”
Full Schedule for weekend:
Sunday 13th October – Race Day
09.30 – 10.45 Youth Quad Ra Duration 1.25hrs
11.15 – 12.30 85SW and 85BW Duration 1.25hrs
13.30 – 16.30 Solo Duration 3hrs
17.00 Award Ceremony
Full information about RHL Activities Weston Beach Race can be found at www.rhlactivities.com