With just over nine weeks before the entire UK off-road community heads to North Somerset for the HydroGarden Weston Beach Race - the 2016 event is looking to be the biggest in its 34 year history.
Riders, industry folk and fans alike are engaging more than ever before, with over 22% increase on rider registrations year to date compared to 2015.
With the Motocross and Enduro season in full swing, RHL Activities are in negotiations with various star riders from both disciplines and announcements will be made in the coming weeks on who will and can race at this year’s event.
Dougie Lampkin a Red Bull sponsored athlete for some 15 years is returning once again to showcase his incredible trials skills in the new ‘Lynch Plant Hire Trials Arena’. Dougie is a world renowned 12 time world trials champion who has appeared on TV shows such as Top Gear and The One Show.
Dougie says “During my fifteen plus years with Red Bull they have given me some amazing chances to spread the sport of Trials to new people the World over. The recent trip to Sri Lanka and the Maldives was up there with the best in terms of the sheer experience, it was a real eye opener and was an absolute pleasure to bring a smile to the faces of the local children and to understand something about their day to day lives. It is a remarkable place and one I will remember for years to come."
For our main sponsor HydroGarden it’s their first year of involvement at the world famous Beach Race, to say they’re super excited is an understatement, we asked Managing Director Jonathan Aldridge what his plans are for the big weekend.
“Everyone at HydroGarden is looking forward to contributing to the biggest, loudest and fastest Beach Race ever. Our designers have been busy creating lots of exciting new interactive activities for visitors to come and "have a go" during the weekend and giveaways for spectators include our HydroGarden bang-bang sticks, perfect for making lots of noise and spectacle! Oh, and not forgetting those important riders – they get lots of exclusive goodies in their goody bags too!
Dale Hawkins of L Lynch Plant Hire is another of our partners who is counting down the days. “Lynch plant hire are very excited about supporting this year’s HydroGarden Weston Beach Race, after the massive event last year, we’re on board for a bigger and more spectacular show, machines and operators are poised and ready for action to build the biggest extreme track to date and push tons of sand into position for some of the longest and highest jumps Weston has seen.
For the trials arena this year we have the world famous Dougie Lampkin joined by Chris Doney and the zero gravity team to perform incredible tricks and jumps in the the Lynch Trials arena.”
Apico Factory Racing are also expanding their involvement for 2016, Marketing Manager Scott Cannon explains, “We’re all looking forward to another great HydroGarden Weston Beach Race and extending our display area with the help of more suppliers and race teams for 2016.
Apico will be keeping riders hydrated with the help of Ice Valley, and raising money for the local Air Ambulance again with public donations for bottles of water.
We see Weston as one of the most iconic race meetings of the season, with a history steeped in off-road, similar to Apicos own.”
For Gareth Hockey of RHL Activities it’s a busy time as him and his team are flat out getting things sorted for their biggest event of the year, “It’s amazing that entries and camping for this year’s Hydrogarden Weston Beach Race are so strong already, we know lots of riders don’t enter until September, with an increase of over 20% already, this truly shows how everyone all looks forward to the Beach Race, both competitor and spectator alike.
It’s great to have Hydrogarden joining the event for the first time, we also have returning partners L Lynch, Apico and Dunlop. Dale Hawkins from L Lynch is a mad off-road fan and taken on the challenge of building Dougie Lampkin the most difficult demo area Dougie will have faced for a few years.