LAS VEGAS — Legendary Baja, ISDT and “On Any Sunday” motorcycle star, Malcolm Smith, has been posthumously named the Maely Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for his lifetime involvement and contributions to the two-wheel sport and Smith will be honored on Saturday, Feb. 1, in the fifth annual “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame Museum and Motorcycle Industry Celebration at the Las Vegas’ Notoriety Theatre in the famed Las Vegas Fremont Street Experience.
Smith (1941-2024), a Canadian native, was considered by many to be America’s most renowned and beloved motorcyclist through his historic motorsports career which included championships in a variety of motorcycle events (eight gold medals in the International Six Day Trials and five overall wins in the Baja 1000). In addition, Smith was a four-time Baja 500 champion, two-time Mint 400 winner, two-time Roof of Africa titleholder and overall winner of the 1987 Atlas Rallye in Morocco.
Following his racing career, Smith developed tools and riding gear as well as establishing the famed Malcolm Smith Motorsports headquarters in Riverside, Calif., and was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame (1978), Motorsports Hall of Fame (1996) and Motorcycle Hall of Fame (1998).
Smith became a two-wheel superstar in 1971 by starring in the “On Any Sunday” feature film, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1972 for Best Documentary Feature. Smith co-starred with AMA flat track champion Mert Lawwill and movie star Steve McQueen in the popular film and was also featured in Naturally Free (1975), Dirt (1979), On Any Sunday II (1982) and the 2005 Baja 1000 documentary.
“We are extremely pleased to honor a motorcycle legend in Malcolm Smith for the ‘Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Gene Woods, founder and curator of the Las Vegas-based “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame which features many of the greatest motorcyclists of all time.
“We miss Malcolm greatly with his recent passing, but his greatness on a motorcycle will never be forgotten. His contributions to the motorcycle world made him one of the two-wheel industry’s most endearing characters and competitors. We remember Malcolm’s great smile and racing accomplishments.”
Smith joins Judy Maely (2020), Kenny Roberts (2021), Larry Huffman (2022), Brad Lackey (2023) and Mert Lawwill (2024) as the sixth member of the “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement to the motorcycle industry award.
In addition to Smith’s Lifetime Award, some 50 new inductees will be a part of the 2025 class for the “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame when this year’s event gets underway on Saturday, Feb. 1, with the popular “meet and greet” celebration and presentations at 6 p.m.
The “Hot Shoe” is the symbol that recognizes the cream of the crop of motorcycle racing stars who used a very specialized tool, the steel shoe, to assist them in navigating the dirt track corners.
