Festive Sandfest success
By TMX Archives on 6th Jan 12
The peace and tranquility of mid-winter on the east coast was shattered between Christmas and New Year as hundreds of riders turned out for the first ever Sandfest event, organised through a colabotration between Nigel Bosshog Wheatley of Enduroland and Pete Carter of Cotswold Enduro Club.
Festive Sandfest success
Report: Tim Tighe
The peace and tranquility of mid-winter on the east coast was shattered between Christmas and New Year as hundreds of riders turned out for the first ever ‘Sandfest' event, organised through a colabotration between Nigel ‘Bosshog' Wheatley of Enduroland and Pete Carter of Cotswold Enduro Club.
A three-mile stretch of golden sand, on a privately owned beach at Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire, provided the setting for this spectacular two-day practice event, which, despite windy and wet weather, proved to be very successful.
A few years back, Nigel was
offered the use of this beach when the Enduroland club was just getting off the ground. He felt that both he and the club were not experienced enough to put on a good show, so the venue went was put on the back-burner.
Joining forces with the vastly
experienced Pete Carter and the Cotswold Enduro crew made the event viable and both organisers thought they could put on something a little bit special. Drawing from the experience of veteran rider Phil Mercer and AMCA Championship rider Matt Porter, plus the enduro experience of Cotswold's Darren Carter, the event went from inception to completion in just
seven-weeks.
Building a course was fairly challenging but one course was simply not challenging enough so the team decided on three individual circuits – one for Kids and Dads, a Motocross course and an Enduro course ¬– just to cover all eventualities. Add into the mix the fact that these courses had to accommodate both solo riders, quads and big 4x4 quads, adults and kids, Novices to Experts and everything in between, the challenge was tough to say the least.
The Kids and Dads course was big and took in many rolling sections of dunes and sand/grass covered mounds, perfect for the younger riders who were to be
accompanied by their parents, but the MX course was something to behold. The team spent a week at the venue with large diggers to sculpt a track, which would have graced any well-established beach race. Large dunes were built alongside a series of smaller dunes and massive banked corners, which
allowed the course to weave along the beach giving riders a distance of over three-miles to cover just on the motocross track.
Many experienced riders, in
addition to plenty of Enduroland and Cotswold regulars, turned out to take advantage of the rare opportunity to get in some practice time on an awesome beach course without spending a fortune. It was excellent value for money in the opinion of all the riders in attendance.
The Enduro course was equally as large and impressive, but relied on natural dunes and tufted grassy areas, which made for a very fast but challenging course on sand, which varied from hard-packed to very loose, all adding to the excitement of the course.
As with any large-scale event, good parking and paddock areas are essential but at Ingoldmells, this was not a problem.
A wide concrete promenade stretched for the whole length of the beach and was packed with camper vans and vehicles of all types, nose to tail along the full length of the paddock. There was even a separate area for spectator parking, close to the Promenade along which spectators had a great view of all three courses.
Central to the planning of the whole event was the event head-quarters, based at Joe's Beach Bar, halfway along the prom. The
owner opened the bar, which offered
refreshments and some welcome relief from the wind and rain and a party was organised for Thursday evening with live music to accompany the many pints sunk by riders and organising staff.
At this time of year the popular resort of Ingoldmells, just north of Skegness, resembles a ghost town with the amusement arcades and adventure rides all closed for the season but Sandfest injected a much needed boost to the local economy and bought the resort to life in a way never before witnessed at this time of year.
A blast along a beach certainly blew out the Christmas cobwebs and injected excitement into an otherwise dull week. The experience of Nigel and Pete combined to provide an event that looks set to continue well into the future and become as large and established as Endurofest, which runs every September.
It was fun, it was cheap and it was very well organised and delivered. Sandfest can be added to the growing successes of Enduroland and Cotswold Enduro Club.
A three-mile stretch of golden sand, on a privately owned beach at Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire, provided the setting for this spectacular two-day practice event, which, despite windy and wet weather, proved to be very successful.
A few years back, Nigel was
offered the use of this beach when the Enduroland club was just getting off the ground. He felt that both he and the club were not experienced enough to put on a good show, so the venue went was put on the back-burner.
Joining forces with the vastly
experienced Pete Carter and the Cotswold Enduro crew made the event viable and both organisers thought they could put on something a little bit special. Drawing from the experience of veteran rider Phil Mercer and AMCA Championship rider Matt Porter, plus the enduro experience of Cotswold's Darren Carter, the event went from inception to completion in just
seven-weeks.
Building a course was fairly challenging but one course was simply not challenging enough so the team decided on three individual circuits – one for Kids and Dads, a Motocross course and an Enduro course ¬– just to cover all eventualities. Add into the mix the fact that these courses had to accommodate both solo riders, quads and big 4x4 quads, adults and kids, Novices to Experts and everything in between, the challenge was tough to say the least.
The Kids and Dads course was big and took in many rolling sections of dunes and sand/grass covered mounds, perfect for the younger riders who were to be
accompanied by their parents, but the MX course was something to behold. The team spent a week at the venue with large diggers to sculpt a track, which would have graced any well-established beach race. Large dunes were built alongside a series of smaller dunes and massive banked corners, which
allowed the course to weave along the beach giving riders a distance of over three-miles to cover just on the motocross track.
Many experienced riders, in
addition to plenty of Enduroland and Cotswold regulars, turned out to take advantage of the rare opportunity to get in some practice time on an awesome beach course without spending a fortune. It was excellent value for money in the opinion of all the riders in attendance.
The Enduro course was equally as large and impressive, but relied on natural dunes and tufted grassy areas, which made for a very fast but challenging course on sand, which varied from hard-packed to very loose, all adding to the excitement of the course.
As with any large-scale event, good parking and paddock areas are essential but at Ingoldmells, this was not a problem.
A wide concrete promenade stretched for the whole length of the beach and was packed with camper vans and vehicles of all types, nose to tail along the full length of the paddock. There was even a separate area for spectator parking, close to the Promenade along which spectators had a great view of all three courses.
Central to the planning of the whole event was the event head-quarters, based at Joe's Beach Bar, halfway along the prom. The
owner opened the bar, which offered
refreshments and some welcome relief from the wind and rain and a party was organised for Thursday evening with live music to accompany the many pints sunk by riders and organising staff.
At this time of year the popular resort of Ingoldmells, just north of Skegness, resembles a ghost town with the amusement arcades and adventure rides all closed for the season but Sandfest injected a much needed boost to the local economy and bought the resort to life in a way never before witnessed at this time of year.
A blast along a beach certainly blew out the Christmas cobwebs and injected excitement into an otherwise dull week. The experience of Nigel and Pete combined to provide an event that looks set to continue well into the future and become as large and established as Endurofest, which runs every September.
It was fun, it was cheap and it was very well organised and delivered. Sandfest can be added to the growing successes of Enduroland and Cotswold Enduro Club.
