Daytona Beach Bike Week

Daytona Beach Bike Week, also called Daytona Bike Week, is a motorcycle event and rally held annually in Daytona Beach, Florida. Since 2021, events have been added in DeLeon Springs. Approximately 500,000 people make their way to the rally area for the 10-day event. The festivities include motorcycle racing, concerts, parties, and street festivals. The event is usually held on the first full week of March (including the Fri-Sat-Sun prior to) and contends with the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally as the most popular motorcycle rally in the United States.[1][2][3][4][5]

Daytona Beach Bike Week
Activity on Main Street, Bike Week 2008
Location(s)Daytona Beach and DeLeon Springs, Florida, USA
Founded1937
Attendance500,000
Patron(s)Daytona Beach Chamber of Commerce
Websitehttp://www.officialbikeweek.com/

History

The Daytona Beach Bike Week rally started as the Daytona 200 race on January 24, 1937. This first race was a 3.2 miles (5.1 km) beach and pavement course. It was won by Ed Kretz from California riding an Indian motorcycle with an average speed of 73.34 mph (118.03 km/h).

This yearly race took a break from 1942 to 1947 due to World War II and again in 2020 because of a global pandemic (although the pandemic situation began in the middle of Bike Week, as the Daytona Supercross had finished the week before). During the years off, an unofficial event was still taking place commonly called Bike Week.

In 1947 the official race resumed and gained in popularity. The event was then promoted by "Big Bill" France, co-founder of NASCAR, and the family business (now known as International Speedway Corporation) still promotes the 200 and the entire Bike Week races at Daytona International Speedway, including the Daytona Supercross which is known for its world-class pyrotechnics and light show.[6]

In 2010, Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium officials made renovations in the stadium that eliminated the quarter-mile flat track for American Flat Track motorcycle events during Bike Week races. Officials moved those races to the Speedway on a quarter-mile track near Turn 1 of the superspeedway at a track used also during KartWeek. However, in 2021, the series moved flat track races out of Daytona, agreeing with World Racing Group, which sanctions the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, DIRT Modifieds, and other dirt track events, to hold the events in DeLeon Springs at World Racing Group-owned Volusia Speedway Park.

Deaths

Most years there are deaths at the festival due to rider accidents.

YearDeathsNotes
2000 15[7] Record at the time (only surpassed in 2006).
2001 6[8]
2002 13[9]
2003 1[9]
2006 20[7][10] Highest recorded annual death toll.
2007 8[10]
2008 7[10]
2009 7[11]
2010 4[11]
2011 3[12][13]
2012 8[13]
2013 3[14]
2014 3[15]
2021 8[16]
2022 5[16]

Law enforcement

Law enforcement for Bike Week is provided by the Daytona Beach Police Department and the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

Trademark dispute

In April 2009, a New York-based holding company named Mettemp filed a claim in the State of New York as being the owner of the phrase "Daytona Beach Bike Week." Daytona Beach area businesses that have marketed T-shirts and other products with this slogan have been contacted by the NY company, claiming infringement of trademark. The Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, which actually sponsors the Bike Week event, has challenged the NY Trademark and has hired the law firm of Cobb Cole to contest Mettemp's claim and block the New York company's bid to obtain a federal trademark.[17][18]

Biketoberfest
Main article: Biketoberfest

In 1991, the Daytona Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau created a second motorcycle festival event in October, named Biketoberfest. Biketoberfest is usually scheduled for the weekend immediately following Columbus Day, although some participants arrive on Columbus Day weekend and visit for the entire week. Part of the fun is a twelve-mile ride along a scenic route, known as the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail. Daytona International Speedway also sponsors some motorcycle races to coincide with the dates of Biketoberfest.[19][20]

References
  1. Bike Week at Daytona Beach: bad boys and fancy toys, by Roby Page, pg. 84
  2. The fun seeker's North America: the ultimate travel guide to the most fun, by Alan S. Davis, Chuck Thompson, pg. 46-49
  3. Sweet Machines & Bike Night Scenes, by Donna Madden, pg. 9-10
  4. Daytona Beach: 100 Years of Racing, by Harold D. Cardwell, pg. 123
  5. Born to be wild: a history of the American biker and bikes, 1947-2002, by Paul Garson, pg. 141-142
  6. "Daytona Beach Hotel Suites | Daytona Beach March Events".
  7. Reed, Kristen (2006-03-16). "Grim toll of record Bike Week rises to 19". Orlando Sentinel.
  8. "Crash Victim Dies; Bike Week Toll at 6". Sarasota Herald Tribune. 2001-03-16.
  9. "In Brief: Daytona Beach: 2 Motorcyclists Still in Hospital". Lakeland Ledger. 2003-03-10.
  10. "7th motorcyclist dies as Bike Week concludes in Daytona Beach". Sebastian Sun. 2008-03-10. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008.
  11. Harley, Bryan (March 11, 2012), "2010 Daytona Bike Week in Review", MotorcycleUSA
  12. Harley, Bryan (March 22, 2012), "2011 Daytona Beach Bike Week in Review", MotorcycleUSAThis says only 12 were killed in 2006, not 20. Need to verify.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  13. Harley, Bryan (March 21, 2012), "Daytona Bike Week 2012 Review", MotorcycleUSA
  14. Harley, Bryan (March 23, 2013), "2013 Daytona Beach Bike Week Review", MotorcycleUSA
  15. Harley, Bryan (March 21, 2014), "2014 Daytona Beach Bike Week Review", MotorcycleUSA
  16. Garger, Kenneth (11 March 2022). "5 motorcyclists killed in crashes amid Daytona Beach Bike Week". New York Post. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  17. "Company says it owns Bike Week name". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. November 24, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-11-27.
  18. "New York company wants to trademark Daytona's Bike Week". Orlando Sentinel. December 3, 2010.
  19. "Despite Noise, Area Pumped by Biketoberfest Numbers". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. October 26, 1999.
  20. "How Racy Will Biketoberfest Get?". WESH. October 13, 2004. Archived from the original on October 16, 2004.
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