Mablethorpe Sand Racing

6th March 2022

Photographing motorsports in the British winter months is a challenge for the spectator photographer, mainly because there isn’t much turning a wheel at this time of the year.

You are limited to motorsports that are not affected by the weather, which boils down to rallying and motocross but even those are in short supply. Motocross tracks get destroyed in a matter of hours, so owners spend their time mainly doing maintenance, only opening when the weather dictates.

Rallying is an option like the MSN Circuit Championship but the heady days of thousands of fans lining forest tracks have been curtailed by the march of Health and Safety.

One winter sport that you can just about guarantee will always take place, disregarding pandemics and world wars, is beach racing. Inclement weather has no effect on the track. A beach will be under water twice a day so rain has zero effect on whether the event will take place or not and snow just adds to the drama.

With this guarantee of a day's racing the PistonClick team headed off in a roundabout route, picking up a few friends who would join us for a day, to the beach at the Lincolnshire east cost town of Mablethorpe.

It had been a while since we last visited. COVID curtailed the 2019 meetings and subsequent seasons were disrupted by COVID and it was still having an effect this year. A very short season of two events will be held, both in March.

The next time you can spectate is the 20th. The plan is to start a full race season in October once the tourists and donkeys have relinquished the beach back to the internal combustion engine.

So what do you need to know if you are attending the Mablethorpe Beach racing as a spectator or photographer? First thing is that you need plenty of warm clothes. The wind farms visible from the beach will give you a clue that there is always a breeze which can significantly drop the temperature even on a nice day like it was last Sunday.

Second, as a spectator photographer,  bring the longest lens you have as you are some distance from the action. I used the Nikon 200-500mm matched to a crop sensor camera to giving me a focal range of 300-750mm, which was about right. The 1.4 teleconverter which works quite well with the combination in bright light stayed in the bag.

The viewing area is basically the main beach promenade with a roped off area to keep everyone safe. From here you can get a great view of the oval track; beach racing is a derivative of flat tracking / speedway,  go fast turn left, repeat.

From anywhere on the top of the promenade you will get a great view, but as with all motorsports the action is best captured at the corners. The last one gives you the best view, so that where I headed for the first few races.

The next area is the paddock/pits. This is open but I stayed at the fringes, using the reach of my lens to get the shots. As a working paddock with a lot of racing to get organised before the inevitable return of the tide, there is a lot of vehicle movement so be aware of your surroundings and stay out of the way and stay safe.

The sea side of the paddock gives you great views of the start line and the last corner, but restricts your view of the rest of the track which is quite big, but you can get a nice head on shot here depending on the bike and rider. Some of the more experienced riders were going for it. As with a lot of turn left motorcycle sports, brakes can be optional so the entry speeds to the corners can be quite high.

One of the more experienced riders who supplied us with some great action shots was ex-speedway rider Steve Lomas, who was putting out impressive sandy rooster tails all day.

Starting his career with the Weymouth Wildcats back in 1974, he went on to ride with some of the best teams of the time. Retiring from speedway 1986 he now runs a motorcycle wheel rebuilding service, Five-one Wheels based in Louth.

Arran Butcher in the "Grass" Class was also impressive. The entry speed he was carrying into the corners resulted in him staying well away from the plastic cones marking out the half mile long track. This meant I could capture some nice clean shot with the waves in the background.

With some nice images to add to my portfolio I was happy with my visit to the Mablethorpe beach racing. The event ticks a lot of boxes. It’s a good event for the motorsports enthusiast, photographers, and for a family day out at the seaside.

It’s free to spectate and all of the cafes are now open for business and I’m sure they would appreciate your support, so if you are free in a few weeks time, pop over. Hopefully the weather will be as nice as it was on our visit.