His need for speed

Doing what you enjoy can pave the way to success, or so it seems for Chawal Sinthukiow, owner and executive director of the Good View chain of popular restaurants in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

"I enjoy jobs related to service, and this attracted me to the restaurant business," he says. "I've worked in this area for 11 years, and at the same time my hobbies have involved anything that goes fast."

Chawal was Thailand's Group N rally champion for seven straight years. He acquired a love of "anything that goes fast" in go-kart competitions while studying in Australia.

Upon returning to Thailand, he used his own savings to finance his entry into car-rally competitions. After four years of this, he became a driver for the Rally Art racing team from 1990-99.

"At that point, I considered that I was getting old, so I decided to stop racing and went to the US to engage in the Thai-cuisine restaurant business for more than three years.

"Driving racing cars in Thailand is not a professional career like it is for foreign racers, who have regular salaries and good welfare," he says. "Racing drivers in Thailand have only yearly contracts, and incentives here are not on a par with those offered to racers abroad. Motor sport is not popular in this country."

Returning once again to Thailand in 2003 to set up his own restaurants, a return to car racing was out of the question, but his love of speed would not go away. Eventually, he joined a group calling itself North Comet. They are riders of big touring motorcycles like Harley-Davidsons.

"I though that I must have some hobby that is not car racing and one of my clients at that time was a member of North Comet. He introduced me to this group of businessmen in Northern Thailand who enjoy riding Harley-Davidsons," he says. Coincidentally, his father, who was a motorcycle enthusiast in his youth, owns and still rides a Harley-Davidson.

However, as a North Comet member, Chawal chooses to ride a BMW.

"I bought a BMW motorcycle because I guessed it would be very difficult owning another brand if there was no service centre for maintenance and repairs. BMW has four service centres around the country - two in Bangkok and one each in Chiang Mai and Phuket," he says.

Nowadays, on his motorcycle, he concentrates on safety rather than speed.

"I ride a touring motorcycle with a 1,200cc engine that is quite comfortable for long-distance riding. I admit riding motorcycles is different from rally driving. By chance, I know Wittaya Suksawat, the owner of the Porn Ping Hotel in Chiang Mai, and he's helped me develop my riding skills.

He's a hard-core motorcycle collector who rides 30,000-35,000 kilometres a year. I now ride 20,000-25,000km a year," he says. "It's been my favourite hobby for more than four years, and I still love it."

Thanadol Rila

The Nation

Ultimate in Luxury

The Luxury LS 460 is a wonderfully comfaortable car fitted with all mod cons, althoough not necessarily the most fun vehicle to drive.