BSA SAND RACER

Jim Scott's B31 BSA Sand Racer
(Photo by - MotoFreakoFoto)

The years immediately following WW2 were some of the best for grass track and sand racing in Lancashire and Cumberland. Even some of the smaller events could attract crowds of 5000 or more.

Sand races were held on the wide open sands of the Solway Firth and Morecmbe Bay, from the famous beach races at Southport Sands up to Skinburness near Carlisle. The bikes were mainly stripped down roadsters, with a smatttering of pre-war speedway and grass track bikes thrown in for good measure. The races were a mixture of straight line sprints and half-mile and one-mile ovals.

This particular bike is a single cylinder 500cc BSA and was raced by Jim Scott on the beaches at Skinburness, Morecambe and around Barrow-in-Furness. Jim had also been a novice speedway rider at Workington's Lonsdale Park during the early 1930s. This bike was rescued from a house clearance by John Fisher of Wiltshire and has now been restored as a B31 road bike. Personally, I think that's a shame. I would have kept it in its mean looking Sand Racing trim and preserved a bit of British Racing history.