Fear of unrest could not keep them away. The 8-km ride out of the city could not keep them away.
Even the 2-km, unlit, rut-filled path past a military barracks and shooting range could not keep them away.
Go-cart aficionados and their supporters came to Kambol F1 for the thrill and for the fun of what is being billed the first nocturnal go-cart race in the country.
Nine teams of four or five hot-rodders took to the 1,000-meter track in low, loud cars and whiled away the moonlit evening racing in circles at speeds of 80 km per hour. The two-and-a-half-hour endurance race was the first of its kind for Kabol F1, the race track and club, which hopes to sponsor similar events in the future.
Michel Sarlande, Kambol F1’s manager, said the club dreams of hosting a seven-hour race, to beat the Thai-held world record of six hours.
The mostly French crowd insisted that the race was friendly, not competitive, which is good, since the host’s team won. At the end of the night, Kambol’s owner, Philip Lenain and his Indochine Insurance team, took the first place trophy with 152 laps completed in two hours and thirty minutes.
Pierre Yves Katry’s Comin Khmer team took a close second, with 147 laps. The Telstra Company team, headed by Paul Blanche Horgan, came in third with 127 laps completed.
The speedway will begin offering nighttime recreational riding sometime in the near future.
