By Barry Russell
Colin Butler crests the hill on Kaeng Krachan's start-finish straight in pursuit of Hans Meuhlebach's Moto2 Suter
If you are taking a holiday in Thailand, don’t go home without doing a trackday at Kaeng Krachan. Like many other riders who have been there, road racer Gary Johnson lists it - after the Isle of Man TT course - as his favourite circuit.
The undulating 2.9km circuit, originally a small airfield, is set in the otherwise peaceful Kaeng Krachan National Park, just north and east of the beach resort towns of Cha’am and Hua Hin. It is the longest race track in Thailand, the only one that runs anti-clockwise and was built mainly for private use by the owner. Indeed, with stone walls in places where bike racers would normally prefer gravel traps, it is perhaps best enjoyed without the pressure of competition.
Johnson was testing there last week with, amongst others, ‘Flying Canadian’ Colin Butler, who burst onto Thailand racing scene six months ago, quickly establishing himself as one of the country’s top naked bike and superbike racers.
With lap times second only to Johnson during the three day test, the onboard footage from Butler’s Fireblade is a real treat.
