Jonny Walker's on his way to Weston Beach Race
By Sean Lawless on 28th Sep 16
Extreme enduro star Jonny Walker and MotoGP rider Scott Redding will compete in this years HydroGarden Weston Beach Race and theres even a chance that five-time winner Rob Meek will line-up alongside them on the Somerset sands.
Walker, who's just returned from injury to win the Red Bull 111 Megawatt event in Poland, will be making his debut in the event and the Red Bull KTM factory rider is relishing the challenge.
"I'm really looking forward to being a part of the HydroGarden Weston Beach race this year,” said the 25-year-old. "It's not something I've done before and it certainly isn't something I specialise in but it's an event I've heard so many good stories about that the opportunity to race wasn't one I wanted to pass up.
"The great thing about Weston is that it brings riders together from enduro and motocross so it's going to be cool to catch up with riders I don't normally get the chance to race with.
"I guess I got some sand practice recently at Red Bull Megawatt but I know that Weston's not going to be like anything else I've done. For me it's just a great opportunity to enjoy and compete in a major UK event.”
Pramac Ducati rider Redding, who races motocross as part of his winter training schedule, will also be making his Weston debut.
"Weston is something I've thoughtw about doing many times in the past,” he said, "but
it always seems to clash with our end-of-season flyaway races so it's not been possible before.
"This year the dates have fallen just right so I get my first chance to take on the beach race. I'm not sure what to expect to be honest. I definitely need to get in a bit more practice on sand before heading down to Weston but there's no way to really prepare yourself for three hours of racing!”
Meek, who first won the event in 1989, plans to race a 350cc Lings Husqvarna but is waiting to see if his entry has been accepted. His son Nathan Watson won in 2015.
More than 800 riders will contest this year's solo event with Aussie FMX star Robbie Maddison, UCI DH Mountain Bike World Champion Danny Hart and three-time world 500cc champion Dave Thorpe among the entry.
This year's event runs from October 7-9. For more information, entries and spectator tickets go to www.westonbeachrace.com
