Keng, 21, spends the week tuning and cleaning his bike — he has to make sure it’s ready to race.
Come Friday and Saturday night, he and more than 20 of his “vanz boy” friends will meet up and ride Chon Buri’s streets, dodging police as they engage in illegal races on their heavily modified machines.
Around the middle of this month, though, the police appeared to offer a truce: The racers would be given a free pass to compete at a designated site from 9pm to 1am on Saturday.
Keng posted a jubilant message to his Facebook wall: “It’s official, we are now fully legal to race on a public road.”
The news was shared widely, as vanz boys — the slang term used to describe young motorcycle street racers — from Chon Buri and nearby provinces prepared for what was set to be the first event of its kind. Police in Buri Ram hosted a similar race recently, but on a dedicated racetrack.
The news travelled fast, and last Saturday as many as 10,000 motorcyclists gathered at the newly constructed Chonlamak Withi Road — a 4km-long bridge that juts out into the ocean, bypassing a section of Chon Buri town before reconnecting to the mainland.
Ready to greet them were about 100 police and soldiers.
“We no longer have to run away from the police,” Keng told Spectrum. “We now have a place to go when we want to show off what our bikes can do.”
REVVED UP
Completed only a few years ago, the scenic Chonlamak Withi Road has quickly become a popular attraction in Chon Buri.
For locals, the bridge provides a place to relax and picnic by the sea.
For outside visitors, it is known for its cheap and fresh seafood products which are on sale at Plee market, which is attached to the bridge. Every Saturday from 3pm-10 pm, seafood lovers make their way to the market to purchase the latest haul from trawlers that pull up to the small piers protruding from the western side of the bridge.
But last Saturday, the hub for seafood lovers was transformed into a haven for speed demons.
Although the racetrack took up only 200 metres of the 4km bridge, the thousands of motorcycles and other vehicles that showed up at the event caused traffic chaos.
Organisers said close to 10,000 people turned up on motorcycles, modified trucks and cars. Most were from Chon Buri, though some had travelled from as far as Chachoengsao, Samut Prakan and Bangkok after hearing of the event on social media.
After a short briefing by police, the spectators lined both sides of the street and got ready for the racing to begin.
Although there were about 10,000 motorcycles, only a couple of hundred had actually paid the 100 baht registration fee and signed up to race. The money went to the event organisers — a local Chon Buri motorcycle group — which said the funds were spent on paying for services like paramedics and clean-up crews.
ATTENTION DEFICIT
With shiny add-ons and a newly modified engine, Suppachock wants to show off his bike as much as possible.
The 20-year-old self-confessed vanz boy said the illegal nature of street racing is part of what makes it so exciting. But even though he enjoys the thrill of running from police, he prefers having a place where he can pursue his passion without fear of arrest.
“I am young and I just want to express my frustration through racing,” Suppachock said. “I hope we can use this track to race on weekly basis.”
But it’s not only motorcyclists who want to get involved. Car and truck drivers are also pushing for police to let them use the track. Just like Bor Bank, 21, whose pickup truck is decked out with neon lights and expensive stereo equipment.
“I have a cool car and I want the whole world to know about it,” Bor Bank said. “Of course I want attention from girls, but all I really want is a place where we can race legally.”
He told Spectrum that he wants everyone to understand that racers are not “trashy”. Many of them have full-time jobs, he said, but get together on weekends to share a love of speed, racing and beautiful cars.
MARKET JITTERS
Yet while the vanz boys were enjoying themselves last weekend, not everyone shared their love for speed and racing.
For the seafood vendors along the pier, Saturday night is the only chance they have to earn their living for the week.
On weekdays, Plee Pier market is empty. The seafood vendors generally work in other markets or head out to catch seafood. But on Saturday the market bears witness to chaotic scenes as vendors put out their best produce at low prices.
One of those vendors, 35-year-old Ae, said vendors would be happy to share the bridge with racers, so long as they didn’t interfere with each other.
“I understand that kids just want to have fun,” he said. “Many youngsters from our village also joined the race. It is a good activity and I have nothing against it. But can you please do it on a day that is not market day?”
With the racing set to start at 9pm last Saturday, the cars and bikes began piling in several hours before. By 7pm — still peak sales time for the seafood vendors — the bridge was packed with vehicles and excited teens.
People wanting to go to the market became stuck in traffic or were simply unable to access the road. Many simply turned around and left.
“If it is possible, I want the organiser and the police to consider moving the race to a Sunday evening, when we don’t have a market here,” Ae said.
CRASHING THE PARTY
After witnessing accidents all his life, Thanawit Thaworn, 22, doesn’t wish to see any more.
Mr Thanawit lives in Wang Sai, a village located right next to the bridge where last weekend’s racing took place. His father owns a tow truck company, meaning Mr Thanawit has grown up regularly seeing the crumpled remains of vehicles that were involved in horrific accidents.
He follows the page of all vanz boy groups on Facebook to monitor their activities. When he read about the event last Saturday, he decided to go and check it out.
In the end, he felt holding regular races on the bridge would bring nothing but trouble to his home area.
“There will be more bad effects than good ones. Motorcycle and car racing will not draw tourists. The air and sound pollution will be a big problem if this goes on,” Mr Thanawit said.
He drafted a letter to give it to the governor of Chon Buri, asking him to consider moving the race to a venue where locals would not be affected. In his letter, he expresses concern about the potential for serious accidents, fighting between rival groups, gambling on race outcomes and damage to tourism and the local economy.
“I saw people gamble and trade drugs at the event and I felt uncomfortable about it,” Mr Thanawit said. “This will lead to a new culture among vanz boys, thinking that this is the home for bike racing, and not all of us want that to happen.”
BENDING THE LAW
As stories of last week’s event circulate online, Chonlamak Withi Road is repeatedly being referred to as a “legal” racing venue.
But Pol Col Pratchaya Prasansuk, deputy commander of Chon Buri Provincial Police, told Spectrum that is not the case — motorcycle racing on public roads remains illegal, and always will, he said.
What happened last weekend, was just a “trial project” run by police as they look to solve a range of issues involving vanz boys in the province.
“Motorcycle racing has caused a lot of trouble in our area and it is very hard to solve. The NCPO gave us more authority to take care of the issue, so we have been experimenting to see what is the best way to solve the problem permanently,” Pol Col Pratchaya said.
“This is actually a countrywide campaign, and every province is also working on the same thing.”
The police officers in charge of the street racing project began by scouring Facebook for information on each vanz boy motorcycle group. They then started contacting the leaders of these groups, inviting them to come together and discuss the idea for a controlled racing environment.
The motorcycle groups nominated Chonlamak Withi Road as the venue. Police agreed, noting that because the road was on a bridge and not in a community there would be trouble with noise pollution.
After negotiating the time and place, the police allowed the vanz boys to organise their own event — under tight police and military supervision.
When the racers registered, each had a photo taken along with a copy of their ID card. The idea is that police can then compile this information into a database of vanz boys in the province.
THE PRICE OF OPPOSITION
The project comes amid a major effort, headed by the NCPO, to crack down on vanz boys and illegal racing.
According to the Land Traffic Act (1985), street racers face penalties ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 baht and up to three months in prison.
But amendments made to that law last year by the NCPO introduce new penalties and grant additional powers to police to deal with the issue.
The changes mean that any gathering of a motorcycle group, with or without racing, is considered illegal. Police officers can arrest suspects and seize vehicles without questioning, and spectators can also face arrest.
Police can now also contact the parents or guardian of a suspect to bail them out, on the condition that they guarantee not to get involved with any racing-related activity for two years. The parents or guardians also face penalties of 3,000-30,000 baht and up to three months in prison.
Mechanics who are found to have done modification work to vehicles involved in racing can also be fined 2,000-20,000 baht and jailed for up to six months, as well as having their business licence revoked.
IN REVERSE
The trial night on Chonlamak Withi Road last Saturday passed without major incident, though by the end the crowd was becoming unruly and wanted to stay on beyond the 1am finish time that had been agreed on. Still, police managed to get everyone out from the area relatively orderly.
On the way home, however, one rider died after crashing his bike into an 18-wheel truck.
Coupled with the complaints from market vendors, police have been left to reconsider the project.
“I don’t think I will allow them to use that area any more, not after last week. There was more negative feedback than positive, and we were blamed for allowing the event to happen,” Pol Col Pratchaya explained. “I will have a meeting and look into the possibility of moving the race to a professional racing track in Chon Buri. We might even be able to train some of the racers to become professional.”
Hearts racing: A drone’s-eye view of Chon Buri’s Chonlamak Withi Road bridge last Saturday.
Born to be wild: Illegal street racers known as ‘vanz boys’ have been subject to a crackdown, but authorities are trialling a new approach. Chon Buri was the first province to allow racing on public roads.
Crowded hours: The police and military watched last Saturday’s racing between 9pm and 1am.
Showing off: ‘Vanz boys’ say they just want to express themselves and release frustration.
Pole position: Chonlamak Withi Road is much quieter by day during the week. The Plee Pier seafood vendors rely on Saturday night’s trade for a large portion of their income.
And they’re off: While there was a large turnout, only a few hundred paid the registration fee.
