This year brought a completely different race programme at the LGR Pendine Beach Race, with three 15-minute races on both Saturday and Sunday. It was a weekend of tough sand racing, plenty of battles and some hard-earned results.
Saturday – Race 1 – Heading out after the smaller bikes, the sand wasn’t too tough, although it was already rough in places. I got a really good start and was really enjoying riding the sand. I put in a solid race and brought it home in 4th.
Race 2 – Started with a really awful start. Then, just to make things harder, a rider went down right in front of me. I collided with his bike, with the back end pushing both of us further back into the pack. I had to dig deep and fight my way through the riders again, eventually working my way back up to 5th.
Race 3 – The start wasn’t great again, so I was pushing hard to make my way through the pack. Unfortunately, as I hit one of the dunes, a rider was coming down the wrong way, leaving me nowhere to go. I ended up T-boning him and going down hard. I got back on the bike, picked myself up and kept pushing. I managed to fight my way back; to the top five, finishing 5th.
Sunday – Race 4 – Sunday started with a really early practice at 8:15am. The sand was wetter than Saturday, making it much more slippery. Race 4 I had a really good start and I was immediately fighting to get into the top three. I rode a really strong race and pushed all the way to the flag but just couldn’t quite reach that podium position, finishing 4th.
Race 5 – Another brilliant start put me right where I wanted to be, running inside the top three and having a really good race. Then I decided it was time to go for a swim! I went down on a really wet corner, costing me two positions and eventually finishing 5th.
Race 6 brought the most awful start of the weekend! I’m just not used to those rope starts yet. I started fighting my way through the pack, but then I could feel my kick-start hitting my leg. I’d lost the screw holding it in place, but there was no way I was giving up. I kept pushing and fighting until I managed to get myself back up to 5th.
Weekend overall 5th – I’m really happy to finish the weekend 5th overall. Sand racing is definitely a different beast, and Pendine threw plenty at me over the six races, but I really enjoyed every minute of it. There were good starts, bad starts, crashes, a few swims and plenty of battles, but most importantly, lots of experience gained.
Next stop: Cotswolds MX Club Championship, then it’s off to Weston for the annual beach race.
WE ARE NORA CRS!
