Drag racing is a popular if niche motor sport across the world, the noise, smoke, style and razzmatazz of the events drag in thousands of aficionados, and in Thailand this genre is reportedly popular and well-attended, so its time to check out this scene. There are two 1/4 miles strips in the vicinity of Bangkok, and one, the Tepnakorn Motor Sports Complex, is a modern, purpose-built track located just off the Rama II highway about 50 kilometres out of the city on the long stretch down to Samut Songkram. Events run at the Tepnakorn Motor Sports Complex every Saturday night with practice starting in the daytime as the action winds up to a climax in the early hours of Sunday morning. Surprisingly the track is pretty easy to find, and heading down the Rama II highway it suddenly looms large on the right hand side following a dearth of the landmarks shown on Google Maps. It's a sea of floodlights, a sprawling car park, banging noise and a huge, unmissable illuminated sign angled close to the road. If only every destination in Thailand was as easy to find.
It's nearly 11:00 PM by the time we arrive, and there's is a healthy crowd milling about and the car park is packed with vehicles of all shapes and sizes. The action will apparently go on until 2:00 AM. There seems to be a pretty big mix of 'drag' cars hitting the 1/4 mile strip, and in action at this point are warmed-up road-legal cars including the - ever popular here - Honda Jazz and Civic as well as the Toyota Yaris and Vios. The strip is only a couple of years old and its clearly still a work in the final stages of completion as there are garages going up alongside one side of the track while there is a - packed out - grandstand along the otherside, in the middle of the two lanes is the usual set of christmas tree lights. The place has a fresh, clean feel and the concrete barriers haven't had time to become dull as they accumulate the customary grime of age. Above the start-line an oval-shaped control tower, packed with timing gear inside and clad with shiny gold-coloured corrugated steel panels on the outside, looks down imperiously on the unfolding action. The strip itself is quite wide and lined with concrete barriers.
All-in-all its a pretty good complex and one that looks like it is set - judging by the ample crowd - to have an ever bigger and better future. The Tepnakorn Motor Sports Complex is the brainchild of Bangkok businessman Sittichai Sirithatthamrong who is a keen proponent of drag racing and drove the ambitious project to fruition. The "main act" tonight is Raoul Blanchetti, known as the Fastest Man in Thailand, who holds the record down the 1/4 mile in 7.260 seconds. An Italian who has lived in Thailand for more than a decade, Raoul has a boatbuilding business in Pattaya. His black-white-and-gold Top Fuel dragster is the centre of attention tonight at the Tepnakorn Motor Sports Complex as his mechanics make the final preparations and system checks under temporary floodlights in the paddock to the sleek car ahead of its headlining scream down the strip. According to Raoul's website this car has a "665 c.i. Top Sportsman engine with a Dart Big M block and a Callies crankshaft; GRP aluminum rods connected to a set of JE pistons; a set of 12° Pro-Filer heads with Jesel Pro rocker arms with an HRE sheet metal intake with two 1150 Quick Fuel carbs; a complete dry sump system with a Stef's tank; and there is an MSD Ignition system with a Jesel Belt Drive. It's a potent package and as the car is rolled into the starting area the railings of the compound and the grandstands are packed with anticipation. Raoul is a showman for sure, this is his stage, the darkened, spotlight-lit amphitheatre is his, as he squeezes into the tiny cockpit and is helmeted up. The burnout is every bit a part of the drag racing sensation as the timed dash up the 1/4 mile and the dragster's huge Hoosier rear tyres spin and smoke as Raoul warms them up and leaps forward beyond the line before the machine comes growling and snarling its way back into the starting area ready for its run. Up-close it's a veritable sea of noise, tyre smoke, fuel smells and adrenaline as he floors the sleek machine and with every horse in its gleaming, chromed engine thrusting, it explodes forward, within seconds a tiny dot in the darkness. Hauled back minutes later, the crowd cheers again, the fastest time of the night has been set, and its time for the next acts to take to the stage.
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มนตรีดีเซล 9.863 วินาทีby I2alphz314,518 views
Nice, surprising scene already for you guys. Congrats
MRm3dia 2 months ago
THAI land
mekuyraipa 5 months ago
@preecha7491 wrong. the american chev colorado is made in thailand, and is actually a isuzu d-max/colorado. it is made in thailand and shipped over to the states and sold as a chevy. has been for years. these pickups are in their local environment
EnduroKTM199 10 months ago
alot of Chevrolet colorado
preecha7491 1 year ago
@hog8
Larger turbo/intercooler
Bigger injectors
piggy back or stand alone race ECU and many other bits like boost cut/speed cut/Maf cut.
Then to make it last you will need forge pistons, billet rods, Stronger gearbox, better diff
1234rigger 1 year ago
how do i get my dmax that powerfull,what work has been done
hog8 1 year ago