FROM THE ARCHIVES BY MARY WATSON

MOTORCYCLE RACING ON THE BEACH

1939 Race on the Beach

While I was looking through files at the Archives, I came across a copy of two newspaper articles from the Toronto Star, written by Allan Johnson in 2006. The articles caught my interest as they detailed motorcycle races which were held on the beach from 1935 to 1940. In light of the “Flight of the Caribou” anniversary this year, it is obvious that our long flat sandy beach was ideal for not only airplanes, but motorcycles as well. According to the article, the British Empire Motor Club of Toronto was looking for a venue for their members to hold safe motorcycle races. During that time, racers in both Europe and the U.S. were using flat sand beaches to hold their races. Of course, the world’s longest freshwater sand beach immediately came to mind, especially with the close proximity to Toronto. Since the beachfront was owned by the Ontario Government, the president of the club met with Premier Mitch Hepburn to seek permission to hold the races. Interestingly enough, they arrived at a solution to the question of liability concerns when using government-owned the land. The club would purchase that part of the beach they wanted to use for the races for one day only, then fence, control and insure it as if it was their own property. Ownership would return to the province the next day. How simple was that?

The first race was held on Thanksgiving Day, October 24, 1935. It was cold and windy, with snow and sleet blowing in off Georgian Bay. One of our typical fall days! Quarter-mile sprints were held in the morning and a 100-mile race on a two-mile course was set for the afternoon. The article notes that more that 2,000 “shivering spectators” watched seventeen riders compete. Because of the bad weather, the afternoon races were shortened to 60 miles.

Tony Miller Les North

J. Rostron

In the morning sprints, a gentleman by the name of Milton Goldhardt did the quarter mile in 10 seconds flat on his 1300cc Harley-Davidson at 145km/hr. Tied for second at 142km/hr in 10.2 seconds were Tony Miller on a 498cc Ariel Red Hunter and George Pepper on a 490cc Norton Manx. Les North came in fourth on his 1200cc Harley-Davidson in 11 seconds. One picture shows Tony on his Ariel Red Hunter, while the other picture shows Les on his Harley-Davidson. The third picture is of J. Rostron, another racer who came in 6

th. Keep in mind that these speeds

were being reached in 1935!

Bryan Sparks

In 1936, the race dates were wisely moved from Thanksgiving to the Victoria Day weekend, in order to avoid the adverse weather that could happen in the fall. Moving the date resulted in making the races more popular, with crowds of up to 10,000 attending. In 1937, Bryan Sparks won the long race, riding a 500cc Vincent TT Racer. He was clocked at 143 km/hr! This last picture shows Bryan roaring by on his motorcycle. The races carried on until 1940, with some gaps in between as a lot of the riders were on active duty during the war. The last race noted in the article was held in May of 1940, apparently in pouring rain. Motorcycle racing picked up again for a while after the war, and we have a copy of a programme for a race held in 1947 at the Archives. This story is still another reminder of how popular Wasaga Beach was and how many different uses were made of our beautiful sand beach. Let’s hope that activities continue to be held on this perfect venue. First printed in the “Wasaga Sun” on 23Sep09