On Saturday 26th September, Margate beach played host to Malle London’s “The Mile Beach Race” where, for the first time ever, classic and custom motorcycles, vintage scooters and sidecars went bar-to-bar on the sand.
The COVID-secure event was actually a three-day affair, with a pre-race meet up on Friday, the main race-day on Saturday, and rounding off the weekend with a 100-mile ride out around the Kent Downs on Sunday. For race day, there were six categories riders could compete in, divided up into eras and types of bikes in the spirit of fair and close racing:
- The Lightweights: Open to all scooters, mopeds and vintage motorcycles under 250cc and pre-1989.
- The Antiques: All vintage motorcycles, pre 1949, sidecars, scramblers and road bikes.
- The Classics: All vintage motorcycles pre 1969, sidecars, scramblers and road bikes.
- The Vintages: All vintage motorcycles pre 1989, sidecars, scramblers and road bikes.
- The Customs: Heavily modified customs, scramblers, brats, café racers and race bikes.
- Women’s Class: Ladies could enter any class they wanted, but this category was for female competitors only.
There was a good turnout across all classes, although the course was underwater at the beginning of the day when riders were arriving, and the tide stayed in for longer than expected. The flag was due to drop to get the first heat underway at 10:00, but adverse weather conditions meant that the racing didn’t get underway until after 11:30.
But once the track was cleared, bikes fired up and were ready to go, with the spectators who braved the cold, strong winds and rain not being disappointed. Watch the highlights video below to see what happened throughout the day.
Even though Malle’s events are all about completing rather than competing, the day ended with podium awards presented to the overall ‘winners’ of each class.
Who are Malle?
If you’re not familiar with Malle, it’s a motorcycle luggage, apparel and adventure accessories brand founded in London in 2012 by British designers Robert Nightingale and Jonny Cazzola, who were riding rough and ready vintage British bikes, a 1969 Royal Enfield and a 1967 BSA, at the time. Being passionate about motorcycles, Nightingale and Cazzola have evolved Malle into running “inappropriate” motorcycle events focused on classic, custom and vintage machines.
These events are made up for a series of races and rallies, including “The Mile Beach Race” hosted last weekend in Margate, “The Malle Mile” held back in August, as well as the longest motorcycle rally in the UK, “The Great Malle Rally”, and “The Great Malle Mountain Rally” from Austria to Monaco set for 2021.
