Phuket Town to host biker festival

PHUKET TOWN: After failing to persuade Patong to host their event, the organizers of the Phuket Bike Rally have now received the go-ahead from the authorities in Phuket Town to stage three days of contests, games and parties at Saphan Hin, from February 22 to 24. Tanate Trivut, managing director of Delice Thai Co, the management company for the event, told the Gazette that Phuket Town Municipality agreed last week to support the Bike Rally. The event is seen as a potential rival to Patong’s regular annual Bike Week festivities. The three-day Saphan Hin section of the week-long Bike Rally will be held at the same time as the Phuket Motor Show 2002, an international motorcycle and car exhibition sponsored by Toyota, Isuzu and Honda, among others. Both events, to be held in separate areas of Saphan Hin, are managed by Delice Thai. K. Tanate said that some 300 people are expected to come from overseas for the Bike Rally, including members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Asked if he was concerned about being associated with a club that US authorities have labeled as dangerous, K. Tanate said, “I have checked on the web and found that there are many Outlaws groups around the world. I think that bike people are like most people; some are good and some might be bad.” The Bike Rally was originally planned for Patong, but organizers failed to secure approval from the Patong Municipality. The municipality cited concerns about traffic problems, safety, and the condition of the football field as reasons for refusing permission. Meanwhile, organizers of the 8th annual Phuket Bike Week, to be held from April 5 to 10, say that the Bike Week events will be staged in Patong, in the open space between the Novotel Phuket Resort and the Club Andaman Beach Resort.