Guernsey MC and LCC did a fantastic job to put together a great event last Saturday, despite having to curtail plans for their annual Sand Ace British Championships. From the ashes rose Battle of the Beach, featuring several rides who’d already committed to a trip to the Bailiwick.
Of those riders, emerging as a cut above the rest was Paul Cooper. The reigning Sand Ace champion, sad to not be able to defend his title this year, was in dominant form, winning with a maximum. Closest to him was fellow Yorkshireman Andrew Whitaker, with another regular visitor to ‘the rock’, Rob Fortune, claiming 3rd. Colin Teed was the best of the Channel Islanders, forcing his way into the top six.
Perhaps the most positive outcome of the Sand Ace cancellation was the inclusion of a healthy youth competition- with several mainlanders making their way across the Channel to get an opportunity to race their bikes on a beach. In the Cadet class, local rider Thomas Vining showed the other Cadet kids the quickest way round the Vazon Bay circuit with some excellent rides. 2017 Gradings List champion George Colvin finished runner-up in the class, with another Guernsey regular, Lewis Le Blanq, finishing 3rd. The Junior class was won by Ben Le Prevost, with another regular Grasstracker, Max Derrick, enjoying his day on the beach to claim 2nd. Super-talented Inter rider Dan Clark duly won his class with another display of tremendous speed.
Two mainland sidecar outfits came across to give regular Guernsey riders Clint Blondel/Kev Bennett something to think about. Runners-up in last year’s Sand Ace (and previous winners) Rob Wilson/Terry Saunters showed great speed to fend off any assaults from the Channel Island pairing, whilst Nevill Penfold/Kevin Jones also made the journey over, enjoying their day’s racing aboard Blondel’s spare outfit.
The meeting also featured cars and motocross bikes, as it regular at the beach racing. The Sand Ace British Championships was sadly brought to a halt due to difficulties with ferry times. Hopefully, the club will be able to build on a year’s rest, and we all now look forward to the triumphant return of the Sand Ace for 2019.
Report by Gareth Bemister
Action images courtesy of Dan Le Poidevin