An official announcement has stated that Mablethorpe Beach Racing will not being going ahead for the 2020/21 season. This is the first time in 50 years the Lincolnshire seaside town will not host motorcycle racing during the winter months.
The series has been limping along for a few years, with a hardcore of committed racers and volunteers, but it struggled to modernise, or market itself. The reason we've been told for the lack of racing is the local council's reluctance to grant a licence, but we'd also heard rumours for years that the feeling was the current organisers would reach the 50th anniversary milestone and call it a day. Perhaps it's a bit of both, but after spending a weekend at the Malle Mile, with a few hundred, perhaps 1000 other people, it seems very possible to make outdoor race events to happen if there's enough commitment. Organising races is not easy, though. We're glad we got to compete in this unique series while we had the chance.
It's a real shame to see this institution come to an end (for now, at least). But it's hard to compare enthusiasm, especially for spectators, for a summer event like the Malle Mile with the wind-blasted Lincolnshire coast in winter. That takes a certain taste for a bracing day out.