Normandy Beach Race

A French-American Romance.

Article and photos: Laurent Scavone

I go down to call Sally on the phone, the housekeeper answers, then her father, and finally Sally on the line. I ask her how she is, and she tells me about her week in Berkeley while her father moves away, I'm not very respectable; "Anything but Holden Scofield," her father had exclaimed in front of the entire Kingsley family, seated and dressed up. Little Sally whispers, "Pick me up in an hour at the corner of Percy and Washington, come with 'Dust Cheaker'!"

Dust Cheaker purrs like a cat under a palm tree, I see Sally Kingsley gracefully hurrying towards the rusty radiator grille, I flick my cigarette, she gets into my Hot Rod like a gazelle, hugs me and raising her arms to the sky she shouts "Go Holden, Go!", I hit the gas towards Pismo Beach where the guys are waiting for us. Since the end of the war in Europe, this is where we meet, on Pismo Beach, California. We meet up with the Grover Beach gang, the Oilers, and the Black Cats. Here, motorcycles and hot rods line up for 200m races, here we find the sensations and thrills of another fight; Marty and I were at Sword Beach Ouistreham for the D-Day landing in June 1944, amidst the fury of bullets. Almost two years later, under the California sun, I'm full throttle, without Marty, I have the fury without the blood, I need speed, I want Sally!

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Saturday, September 21, 2019, on Sword Beach in Ouistreham, Lower Normandy (France), it was California, it was Pismo Beach. In a minimalist setting, without sponsors, without Redbull, without the flashy banners of car manufacturers or motorcycle brands, we were transported to an era that no one here had known. Yet this American movie set is the daily life of enthusiasts who have chosen the 40s and 50s as a way of life. On this fine sand, which was the scene of bloody clashes in 1944, an extraordinary lineup of hot rods and motorcycles from before 1947 now compete. All participants passed the technical inspection, carefully and precisely selected by the Normandy Beach Race crew. The icing on the pancake was that the 5,000 visitors were able to see a Belly Tank racing, an improbable car built around a World War II aircraft fuel tank, or this iconoclastic propeller car… Which runs as fast as a rototiller on acid.

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I was there when it all started!

In 2016, I accompanied the future organizers of this event in California, the group of friends who came to race their Harleys and Indians at Pismo Beach on the Pacific leg of TROG (The Race of Gentlemen). It was on this Californian beach, at night, behind a villa rented for the occasion, that the idea was born. A glass of French red wine, of course! Around the brazier, Jean-Marc, Marc, Thomas, Fred, Laurent dreamt of a race in France. There, in the American night, to the sound of Pacific waves, hot rods and camper vans still roll on the sand where some get stuck, you tell yourself that anything is possible, especially after having drunk more Bordeaux than usual!

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The various editions of TROG have produced sublime images and videos that went around the world, making this event known as "the Mecca" of vintage sand racing. People don't just come to race; they also come to live an experience, to go back in time. The machines are period-correct, as are the clothes, caravans, signage, communication, and stands—everything breathes the 1940s, especially the audience. Imagine a town taken over by hot rods, vintage motorcycles, muscle cars, a town like a movie set, a dream for photographers and videographers, a feast for the eyes…. A dream for the French team, who have since travelled the world to relive this experience. Denmark with Romo, England with Pendine Sands, the USA with the New Jersey session of TROG—feeding their dream, making the necessary contacts, learning and feeling alive.

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Why do it differently, let's do the same!

This race is a miracle in a sanitized era where anything related to mechanics is considered a cancer. Organizing runs with "old contraptions" that spew smoke like e-cigarettes on a beach is a feat of strength today, yet this event exists and will be renewed next year. Marc Felix, Thomas Hervé, and Jean-Marc Lazzari put all their weight behind creating this race, consistent with TROG, and adhering to vintage standards, to let us experience, like the Dust Cheaker, the runs where most of the Ford Model A with their inline 4-cylinder engines or Model B equipped with V8s between 85 and 120 hp competed.

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In Ouistreham, we don't forget America!

Since the landing, the DNA of the USA has flowed through the veins of a region that doesn't forget its history; perhaps that's the secret, but let's put all those considerations aside and return to the beach. Holden Scofield's Hot Rod has crossed the ages to delight our eyes. He's not the only one, as more than 80 car/motorcycle crews are registered, coming from all over Europe and even the USA.

It took all that to bring together such a beautiful lineup. Harley fans, listen up: Harley WLA models built for military needs are in the spotlight, with single seats, 740cc engines, suicide shifters…. Motorcycles costing 15,000 to 30,000 euros eating dust, or this incredible 1942 Indian Chief in its gleaming grenadine livery, which chained runs all day without faltering. There are those that race and those that cruise around town or on the promenade like bikini-clad bimbos. You'll also find other cars that don't meet race criteria, muscle cars, post-war French cars, or VWs from the 50s to 70s—in short, the entire custom culture community of cars and motorcycles. You could even spot Velocettes, BSAs, AJSs, Peugeots across from the beach or at the campsite… and ultimately, nothing else really, and frankly, it was a light event, offering the essentials. Do you want your hair styled or a tattoo every time you set foot in an event? Not me! Testing the latest motorcycle releases, I can do that at the dealership. Buying clothes, same thing, because motorcycle events are overflowing, and sponsors are more often in the spotlight than the machines we all dream of just seeing… At the Normandy Beach Race, you sit your ass on the sand, the azure sky is a backdrop showcasing machines from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM that you almost never see. Here, the riders don't care about damaging their machines; a Swiss team even rode there and intends to leave without a trailer in a 1932 Ford.

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• The words you absolutely need to know to look cool in the paddocks!
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• You don't say pre-1946 single-seater Harley Davidson, you just say WLA
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• You don't say the girl with the checkered flag, you say "Flag girl"
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• You don't say Ford A V8 engine before 1949, you say Flathead
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• You don't say original car or motorcycle, you say Street legal

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