Italian Beach Racing

Old cars and bikes on the beach is a recipe for fun anywhere, but add a location like Caorle, Italy and picture-perfect late summer weather and you get a full-flavored experience unlike anything back home.

Back in 2013 Luca and Stefano from the ’50 Brothers Car Club got around 15 of their best friends and spent the weekend driving their old American hot-rods and motorcycles up and down the beach about an hour up the coast from Venice. Over the past 6 years it’s grown to over 100 cars and bikes yet still maintains the feel of a get-together of good friends.

Most of the participants have been coming for years after having been bit by the beach-racing bug. For most the racing isn’t too competitive – the short-course and deep, heavy sand keep the speeds low and these cars still need to travel often many hundreds of miles back home after the weekend.

Racers drive these machines from all over Europe – Germany, Luxembourg, Austria – places where merely acquiring and legally registering an old American car can be an exhausting, multi-year nightmare. These countries have incredibly strict rules with only extremely original cars being allowed to run legally. Nevertheless the hot-rod spirit always finds a way and there were many examples on the beach in Caorle.

The majority of cars were post-war sedans and coupes since visitors came from such great distances and usually with friends and family. Caorle is a beautiful little seaside town with great white-sand beaches and a postcard-perfect historic old-town. A lot of folks use the race as an excuse to have a last holiday of summer – or the other way around.

The big cars weren’t the only ones throwing sand – there were plenty of traditional hot-rods as well. Most with flatheads, fenders removed and bias-plies.

The two-wheeled presence on the beach was strong as well with a large number of early Harleys and Indians, many stripped down specially for beach racing.

The racing took a long European lunch for a couple of hours and returned with elimination races until the fastest car and bike were determined. Then, for the final race, they squared off against each other with the “Speed Rod” just edging out Willy Miller’s shovelhead.

They seem to do things differently in Italy. Rarely rude or in a rush, people here savor their days. Taking time to really enjoy what you’re doing is paramount and if you can do it in a gorgeous setting among beautiful machines and people – even better.
Rumors about this being the last Roll & Flat beach race swirled around the event but if we’re lucky and the hot-rod gods are smiling, there will be another next year. And if so you should make plans to be there!