The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

The biggest event on the Thai racing calendar is the Thailand Festial of Speed held on the streets of the beach town of Had Bang Saen, about an hour's drive from Bangkok.  The mayor of Bang Saen had the brilliant idea of closing off the streets, putting up barricades, and hosting a road race through town.  Brilliant.

Highly trained track officials were recruited from among the local population, crating a boost in revenue and employment.  Brilliant.

We arrived early in the morning on Saturday just in time to see this race dog get red flagged by the highly trained track officials.  You do not want dogs on the race track when the race cars regularly exceed 100mph.  Brilliant.

The first race was the vintage Mini class.  The cars were very fast and mostly well-prepared.

Where's the Mini?  Oh I see, it's camouflage!

There were many hundreds of race cars in the pits representing many classes.  This Lotus Class racer had plenty of cameras mounted on his racer, no doubt for posting on the Internet.

There didn't seem to be as many spectators as last year . . . but those who were there displayed great creativity in their ability to get the best view of the race track.  I should point out that the race is absolutely free for spectators:  you just walk in and are free to sit in any of the many grandstands spread aground the track.

There were more race cars this year, and they were better prepared . . . this led to lots of close racing . . . very close racing.

My friend Peter and I attempted to walk around the whole track, but encountered a stretch of track not accessible by spectators.  Every now and again there was a break in the safety fencing that allowed us to rake some nice photos of the many beautiful racers.

 After having a delicious banana roti, we settled into a spot just after the starting line where the track took  a 90 degree corner.  There was lots of action here.

There were several "racing incidents" that we somehow missed getting any photographs of . . . . but the Safety Officials were very photogenic, don't you think?

What any well dressed track emergency worker is wearing this season . . . . 95(f) heat and 90% humidity!  This guy must have been roasting . . . but those shades are definitely cool.

The Buddy Club Honda race car sponsored by the Vegetarian Society. "Love Us, Not Eat Us!- All Lives are Precious." was emblazoned on the hood.

These guys really threw their race cars into the corners . . . . notice the left rear tire is off the ground!

FIVE WIDE going into the 90 degree left-hander . . . . trouble's a-comin'!

The Race Officials were not always visible . . . . literally.  Some Thais do not want to get dark skin . . .  a weird aspect of pervasive, and prevalent, classism in Thailand.

There were lots of race girls, but unfortunately I changed camera bags and had only one 90% used-up battery with me.  Oh well.  I had just as much fun. I will not be at the Bang Saen race next year.