Crowds of thousands expected at Weston Beach Race this weekend

 TENS of thousands of motorbike enthusiasts are expected to descend on Weston-super-Mare this weekend for the resort's annual Beach Race.

Around 50,000 people are expected to pack into the resort for the event which is heralded as the biggest and best beach enduro in Europe, and 1,150 riders have already registered to take part.

The three day event, run by RHL Activities, runs from October 12-14 and this year will see a number of new attractions.

This year the event marks its 30th anniversary and organisers are determined it will be the biggest and best yet.

Work has been continuing on creating the course all week with around 200,000 tonnes of sand being moved around the beach by a fleet of diggers.

The course, which stretches over 5.2 miles,

has more than 30 mountainous sand dunes and a 2.5 kilometre straight where riders can reach speeds of up to 100 mph.

On Friday there will be mini bike racing for the youngsters and Honda will be bringing its Extreme Academy for young people to find out more about bikes and racing.

On the Saturday there will be the junior races and in the afternoon the adult quad race.

On the Sunday there will be a kids quad race in the morning followed by the adult solo race - the main highlight of the weekend - in the afternoon.

There will also be a fair and entertainments area on the Beach Lawns.

A special exhibition is also planned with  photographs and exhibits dating back to the first ever event at Weston.

Throughout the weekend there will be bars, barbecues and bands during the evening with a range of activities and displays planned throughout the daytime.

RHL director, Gareth Hockey, said: "We've been working hard to ensure that this year's RHL Beach Race at Weston is a fitting celebration of three decades of racing on the Weston seafront.

"We've signed up the best riders to battle it out in the biggest field yet and we're expecting our closest race ever this weekend.

 "We've also gone to town with the off-track activities, to ensure that there's something for the whole family and that the 30th anniversary of the beach race will remembered as a very special event by everyone, whether that are racing or spectating this weekend."

The event is promising some of Europe's best riders with MX2 World Champion, Jeffrey Herlings, making his beach race debut this year.

The young Dutchman is renowned for his skills in the sand, but the Weston course he'll face is very different to the sands of Lommel and Leirop, where he has been dominant in the past.

Other riders gearing up for a battle of the bikes is Monster Yamaha rider Shaun Simpson and former podium finisher Tom Church and Brad Anderson.

Buildbase, one of Europe's fastest growing builders merchants, will be sponsoring all of Sunday's races, including the three-hour feature race, for the first time.

Advanced entries for the RHL Beach Race at Weston are now closed, but late entries will be available in all classes.

Riders wishing to enter for the weekend can do so on Friday using the dedicated late entries desk in the registration area.

Tickets are priced at £40 for an adult weekend pass and £10 for children aged four to 12.

Day tickets are £20 for adults and £5 for children.

For more information and further ticket details log onto  www.rhlactivities.com