THE WATERGATE BAY SPRINT 2023 TAKES PLACE ON SATURDAY 16 AND SUNDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2023 ON THE NORTH CORNISH COAST BETWEEN NEWQUAY AND PADSTOW. ENJOY ONE OF THE BEST MOTORSPORT RACES IN CORNWALL
Tune up those engines. The Watergate Bay Sprint 2023 revs up on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September 2023, thanks in no small part to the success of its high octane 2022 edition. The action happens near Watergate Bay between Newquay and Padstow.
This unique closed-road extravaganza along the B3276 that stretches along the north Cornish coastline features up to 220 competitors from across the UK in all manner of racing vehicles trying to beat the clock and win the fastest time of the day in front of packed crowds.
The two-day closed-road speed event started as a ‘hillclimb’ in 2018 but upgraded to a ‘sprint’ in 2021. And it continued to be a thrilling sprint in September 2022 at an event that was hailed the ‘biggest and best yet’. Organisers traditionally bill it as ‘a groundbreaking motorsport event for Cornwall and the UK’.
It’s certainly one of the best motorsport races in Cornwall, if not the South West, with plenty of great vantage points across the course for the hundreds of spectators. Some of the best spots to catch the action are right next to Cornwall’s stunning north coast vistas.
This high-speed sprint event over 900m is organised and promoted by a partnership between motor clubs in Devon and Cornwall. It starts on the Newquay side of the B3276 at Trevelgue. The competing cars then head towards the famous Watergate Bay, negotiating tight bends and powering along straights until the finish line. For spectators, there’s a dedicated area alongside a paddock and display zone.
Max Verstappen? Charles Leclerc? Lewis Hamilton? Nah, they’ve got nothing on these drivers. Watch them motor towards the finishing line in one of the most beautiful areas of Cornwall over a stunning weekend in September. And they’re off for the Watergate Sprint 2023…