The Race of Gentlemen

June 2016 | Wildwood, NJ

By Kimberly Maroon

The Thrill of Speed on the shores of the Atlantic.

The rev of engines, the smell of gasoline, heat radiating off mufflers, the salt hanging in the sea air— all components of a scene that had my heart racing to keep up. I held on to my adrenaline so tightly as I photographed the Race of Gentlemen. I‘ve always been drawn to chaos and thrill in what I photograph, moments where my camera becomes an anchor, so I knew the race was something I had to capture or bring order to with my camera.

People travel from all over the country (even as far as Japan) to race in The Race of Gentlemen. It‘s an awesome event difficult to put into words and that is part of why I set out to document the experience. As you step off the boardwalk and onto the beach, you step back in time. From the classic cars and bikes to the authentic vintage attire of the racers, you have stepped out of your time machine to 1940. Imagine stumbling into a movie set then you realize the movie is real. The Race of Gentlemen is the only place where the present is the past. Each morning the racers get ready, hurriedly making repairs, all while the tide pulls out to sea. A few pushes and pulls helping each other through the sand to line up and racers make their way to the grid. They pull up to the starting line, the flag flies and off they launch down a 1/4 mile strip of beach along the Atlantic Ocean.

I heard about the Race of Gentlemen years ago through old friends in New Jersey. I longed to be there in person against the backdrop of a place I grew up on—the Jersey boardwalk—to witness humans and machines colliding in a fury of speed. After studying photos from the last few races, I decided I wanted to capture the race in my own way, something never-before-seen and with a touch of hi-tech. My ultimate goal for my photography is to be super-immersive and transport my audience to that particular moment of an experience. I want people to feel like they are part of the experience in a way that reaches beyond their own personal perspective. For The Race of Gentlemen, I wanted to view what the racers see and even the point-of-view of the cars or bikes. How can I get closer to the action? My camera needed to climb inside the race, inside the bike, and essentially hitch a ride.

I want people to feel like they are part of the experience in a way that reaches beyond their own personal perspective.