Every year there is one motorcycle event that is by far the easiest for me to cover. It's the 4 hour race for vintage/classic motorcycles of Valmont  , Normandy, France. Why? Because it's 2 villages down from where I live, and it takes 5 minutes by motorcycle to get there.
This year, the vintage motorcycle race was held last Sunday, and despite the fact that we live in the middle of farmland country, in the middle of the sticks, the spectators arrived in droves. I should also mentioned that it was raining cats & dogs for most of the event.
The race was divided up in different categories, starting with the mopeds right up to the big boys. The "paddock" was open for the public to admire these ancient motorcycles, and like all motorcycle race events, you could spend money on food and other things. But the event itself was free to all. The race is international, since I saw license plates from the UK and The Netherlands.
The first part of the photos below are some of the classic & vintage motorcycles to be found in the paddock area. I'm not an expert in vintage motorcycles, and most of the manufacturers I have never heard off, since they are all mostly defunct. So I'll not bother boring you with names and dates, since I don't know them myself.
It's a great testimony to the owners to have kept these old motorcycles in such a great shape.
First I'll show you the paddock area, followed by two races. I'll not comment many photos, since I like said, I haven't got an idea what I'm talking about. I just found them pretty....
The Paddock
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  Beautifully restored. Look at the gear change lever. |
#12
 ... from the other side... |
#13
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#14
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#16
Last minute engine tests.
Start Grid
 Start grid positioning |
#17
 Face full of anticipation and concentration |
#18
 Local delivery moped. |
#19
 Umbrella girls |
#20
The local county/province had sponsored several umbrella girls, which were really needed due to the rain.
 Classic.... |
#21
 Off they go for the warm up lap. |
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Warm Up Lap
 Behind the pace/safety car |
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Each race had, like all motorcycle races, a safety car. In this case, each race had a different vintage car fulfilling the role.
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 Trying to be aerodynamic |
#27
 That is some speed for the Solex... |
#28
Heat 2 - 125 to 200 cc motorcycles
 Heat 2 with the pace/safety car positioned. |
#29
Another safety/pace car
 The cows are enjoying the spectacle. |
#30
 The cows are enjoying the spectacle. |
#31
 Determination... |
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 Even female racers participated.. |
#35
 A Royal Enfield sidecar |
#36
... and then the rain started again, and I called it a day.
All in all, a nice day.
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