Where It All Began
In 1922 the Levis Social Club conducted the first ‘official’ races at Sellicks Beach, located about 50kms south of Adelaide. The beach racing continued until 1957, with a break for WWII, by which time racing had moved to street circuits in various townships across Australia. There were a couple of Sellicks Beach revivals, 1986 and 1992, before racing returned in 2017 courtesy of the Levis Motorcycle Club (formerly Levis Social Club). The Sellicks Beach Historics is now held every two years.
The beaches south of Adelaide are ideal for racing due to the pebbles under the sand which compacts with the tide providing a ‘solid’ base. These days, the racing is held up the beach at the Aldinga Life Saving Club where the pit area is in the carpark with an adjacent ramp providing beach access. The races are open to pre-1963 bikes with the proviso that knobby tyres aren’t used and the bikes are in the ilk of the original model.
The Motorcycles
The oldest machines competing were Hein Otto’s 1924 ‘Wall of Death’ Indian Scout, his 1924 350cc ‘Bigport’ H7 AJS and Dylan Marley’s 350cc Douglas 2 3/4hp TS. They were probably the slowest bikes doing laps with the fastest bike for the weekend being the 1962 Kenrich Triumph Bonneville of Isle of Man racer, Davo Johnson, who a lap of 1:11:445 with a top speed of 92.419mph, just a tad shy of the 100mph mark of a few years ago. The oldest competitor was 89-year-old Trevor Atwell in his 1958 Ariel outfit.
As might be expected given the pre-1963 requirement for the bikes, most were British including a 1950 Vincent Rapide ridden with much gusto by David Whitehead who had travelled from Queensland and a few H-Ds and Indians for the handshift battle. European marques included three Ducatis, a Swedish built Lito 520MX, Bultacos and Montessas and the German built Adler and DKW. The Japanese contingent was dominated by Hondas and a sole Yamaha, all from the early sixties when the Japanese were just getting started in the motorcycle business.
Historic Racing
Sellicks Beach Historics are as much about having fun as about serious racing which is evident by the family atmosphere accompanying the event. This year saw numerous t-shirts sporting Sellicks Beach logos related to particular riders. While these were for the teams and their supporters there was merchandise available to the general public in the form of t-shirts with four different designs along with caps and stubbie holders.
Unlike many race meets, due to the limited space, the pit area is restricted to riders and their support team, making it difficult to view the bikes up close and chat about the older days or particular steed. Instead, there is the ‘meet and greet’ at the start of each day where the riders and bikes congregate on the beach before the public can then jump the barricades and meet the riders. It is also a photo opportunity for family and friends.
Saturday Racing
The racing is over two days and to say that the track, an 800m length of beach with turn barrels at each end, is different each day would be an understatement. Saturday saw temperatures in the high thirties which proved challenging for both riders, especially those opting for full leathers, and machines which kept the recovery quite busy. Saturday also saw a couple of long stoppages due to a couple of medical related incidents resulting in a shortened Saturday program along with Sunday’s races being reduced to three laps instead of the usual four.
Usually, the overnight high tide results in the sand being compacted providing a firm base for racing. Unfortunately, or perhaps not, this wasn’t the case on Saturday with the area adjacent to the officials and the location of the start/finish line sand already being quite soft before a wheel had even turned and only became more so as the day progressed with ruts adding to the churned up sand.
This area is also where much of the action takes place with more than a few riders coming a cropper as they negotiated the turn barrel and the rutted sand. In some cases, it was solely the rider while in others it was after a bump from another rider endeavoring to get their bike headed in the right direction.
Sunday Racing
As with Saturday, Sunday morning saw another meet and greet before the shortened races commenced. Fortunately, the temperatures were in the far more enjoyable twenties and the overnight tide and rain resulted in a firm base for the day’s racing.
The rain also meant that some puddles had formed on the land side of the track which a few riders opted to explore. Similarly, the incoming tide for the feature races (‘sidecar stampede’, ‘babes handicap’ and the ‘sandblaster top 20’) at the end of the day saw more water works, much to the delight and cheers of the spectators. Sunday also saw some of the faster machines, both solos and outfits, getting some air over the small bumps in the sand.
The Sellicks Beach Historics is about fun family racing with heaps of entertaining action on the beach. The next Sellicks Beach Historics is scheduled for 2027 and is a must for some old racing from a bygone era…
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