ENSENADA, Mexico — Legendary off-road motorcycle racer Malcolm Smith died on Nov. 26. He was 83 years old.
Born in Canada, Smith spent most of his live in Riverside, Calif. He was one of the early stars in SCORE motorcycle racing and then switched to become a SCORE champion racing in Class 1 for open-wheel desert race cars.
Smith is one of a very few icons who is in three motorsports Hall of Fame: Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame (1978), Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1996) and the Motorcycle Hall of Fame (1998).
A mentor to many, Smith had eight career class wins in the SCORE Baja 1000, five of them overalls—two on motorcycles and three in Class 1.
In the SCORE Baja 500, Smith had five class wins and four overalls, one on a motorcycle and three in Class 1.
Competing in a variety of events on a motorcycle, Smith also won eight gold medals between 1966 and 1977 in the International Six Day Enduro Trials in Europe.
Smith’s talent on two wheels earned him a starring role in Bruce Brown’s classic motorcycle documentary, On Any Sunday, alongside screen legend Steve McQueen and AMA Grand National Champion Mert Lawwill. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 1972 for Best Documentary Feature.