Race the Waves - Beach Racing

Bridlington Yorkshire 

28 April 2023

Something a little different for this report. We are off to take some motorsports photography at the sea side, specifically for a bit of beach racing. We have previously covered the motorcycle beach racing held at Skegness and Mablethorpe but his one is a little different.

I’ve been aware of Race the Waves for a few years but have never managed to attend the event due to other commitments. Last weekend the stars aligned and I was free to go and see what event was all about.

The idea of Race the Waves is to get a load of hot rods and custom motorcycles on the beach, mark out a 1/8 of a mile and then set them off in pairs in a sandy drag race. Make it free to watch and the Yorkshire town of Bridlington gets loads of tourists turning up to spectate and spend a bit of cash in the local community.

The event did indeed attract a lot of tourists so job done on that front, it was packed. They also managed to attract a lot of great looking hot rods, motorcycles and some quite frankly strange looking vehicles for the four days that the show was on. 

It also attracted the teddy boy/rockabilly types who looked the part at the sea side and added to the atmosphere, especially the ones dancing to a bit of rock and roll.

What did confuse me was the quite short individual dressed as Darth Vader, it’s a free world so what the hell! If you want to walk up and down the sea front with a black cape and a black plastic bucket on your head breathing heavily, go for it!

I travelled up on the Saturday so had missed the Friday press launch where the vehicles were parked up in the town for a photo opportunity and a parade through the town. Not to worry. If you are thinking of going in 2024 the cars and bikes will park up in the South Beach park and ride car park before heading to the beach.

This works well, as with all British sea side towns, parking is at a premium so the park and ride is an ideal location to head for. £5.50 to park which includes a return trip on the bus for up to five people isn’t too bad. However, as the event is taking part on the South Beach it’s not that far to walk which is what I did, taking photos on the way to the holding area.

Billed to start at 10:00 am the vehicles were still in the car park at that time waiting for the tide to fully go out, so you will need to be flexible. However, there is plenty to see in Bridlington so it’s not an issue. The extra time gave me the opportunity to take a good look at the machines on show while they waited for the beach to dry out.

Once the vehicles had moved to the beach, the public were restricted to either end of the track and the promenade. As there were so many cars and bikes participating, the marshals were releasing them to the start area in batches.

This meant I got a good chance to take some nice shots at either end of the course as they came past and also I was not that far from them. I used a simple 18-120mm kit lens on a Nikon D500 crop sensor camera at the paddock.

Walking down the promenade the action is some distance away, so a larger zoom is required. For me, I used a 200-400mm f4 which works well at this distance. There was quite a large crowd along the sea front but there were gaps as people moved off to get lunch or explore the town.

The promenade is staggered with multiple levels, so if your lens has the reach you can move back from the sea wall and shoot over the heads of the visiting tourists, or take a small step with you. 

At the far end of the course is the start line where again you can get close to the action and pick up some nice shots. It was interesting to see the set off tactics some of the racers were using. Standard drag racing of nailing the throttle was evident, although it was not the best way to get down the course in a good time.

Hitting the loud peddle threw up plumes of sand and made lots of noise but resulted in little forward momentum. It looked great and I think that was what the racers using this technique wanted to achieve - a dramatic crowd pleasing start.

Easing the power on gently was the way to do it, not as spectacular, but once traction was achieved some of the racers were getting down the course quite quickly.

There was commentary but I don’t remember any 1/8 mile times being announced. I don’t think the racers or the event organisers were taking it that seriously.

I think that sums up Race the Waves, a fun unique sea side event that everyone, petrolhead or otherwise, will enjoy. I could have spent a lot longer at the start line but after a few groups of vehicles had come through I packed the camera gear away and headed off to the town. Eventually after a look round the town and a bite to eat I used my park and ride ticket. The bus picks you up from the harbour returning you to the car park in about 10 minutes.

If I’m free next year I will come back as it makes a pleasant distraction from standing on the side of a track and can give you a nice set of pictures for your portfolio. Next year I will get a picture of Luke’s father!

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