This Is Guernsey

By Nick Mollet

THREE times British grasstrack champion Mitch Godden has let a secret out about his trip to Guernsey this summer. It would appear that he was not only successful on the wet sand at Vazon beach but success came off the bike too.

The 32-year-old from Maidstone has won the last two Condor Ferries Sand Ace Championships in the island but he joked his wife Sherrie may be barred from Guernsey when he returns next year to try and make it a hat-trick of victories.

But why be so harsh on his missus?

‘My wife is pregnant with a girl and we have two boys.’ The third child may have been conceived after the last win, he said.

‘We might have to put Guernsey names in the hat - it could be called Vazon.’

Godden, who admits to being laid back, relaxed and chilled out about racing, was back in the island at the weekend as chief guest at the Guernsey Motor Cycle and Car Club annual dinner and presentation night.

He believes he has an ace up his sleeve when coming to Guernsey because he is used to riding at high speeds at grasstrack and longtrack circuits in the UK and all over Europe.

‘We were touching near 100mph at the end of the straight at Vazon,’ he said.

He believes the Ace of Sand event has huge potential but it has fundamental differences to elsewhere.

The one limiting factor for the GMC & CC is that in a stadium-type track or farmers-type track in the UK and Europe, clubs can charge spectators but with a long sea wall here they would struggle.

‘As regard to the value of the meeting it’s definitely on my calendar. Guernsey is unique.

‘It’s a very relaxed bunch of people racing in a very relaxed manner.

‘I’m not saying it’s not competitive because it’s fierce and fairly fast,’ said Godden.

‘It’s a pleasure with so much red tape elsewhere to get on a bike and race fast but there is a safety issue as well,’ he stressed.

Normally at other places he is riding inches away from safety markers.

‘To get on a beach I personally feel there is a minute amount of danger. There is only the danger of falling off and there is only the sea wall and ocean to hit which are both fairly far away.

‘There are not many tracks you can race flat out - it’s a fantastic feeling,’ he said.

He described it as a ‘perfect’ venue, but not comparable to anywhere else he has raced.

He believes the event’s total prize money of £2,700, of which £500 went to him this year for his efforts, is more than adequate given the club have to balance its books.

‘My first port of call is to make sure there is a future for the sport, not just for today but tomorrow,’ said Godden.

After competing in Guernsey in June he represented Britain in the World Longtrack Championships and his team won the silver medal.

He also won a big championship event in Germany, after other travels to the likes of France, Czech Republic and Holland.

Godden believes the Guernsey riders are progressing well.

‘They have definitely come on and they have got a lot of ambition and inspiration to improve themselves.’

He believes it would be good to encourage other people to the sport - especially in a controlled environment rather than speeding on the roads.

‘Everyone is looking for a buzz.

‘If that is not provided they will go and find their own.

‘If something like this suits them and can be controlled it’s good for everyone.’

One perhaps surprising feature about Godden is that he has raced motorbikes for 20 years but has never raced one on the road.

‘The sport has definitely kept me on the straight and narrow,’ he said.

He said it was an honour to be invited back as the club’s guest and is already pencilling next year’s event into his diary.

‘It’s a fantastic event and as long as I’m welcome I will be coming back every year.’

Fifty years ago, when five-figure crowds watched Murattis and four-figure ones watched Priaulx League football the other big crowd- puller was Thursday afternoon sand racing, with the Vazon sea wall packed solid.

Over the past 30 years the sport lost much of its mid-20th century sparkle and domestic racing suffered as entries slowly diminished.

But the arrival of the Ace of Sand meeting, which has enticed UK speedway and grass track stars to mix with fellow sliders, has breathed new life back into the sport.