Classic Motorcycles

Malcolm Smith passed away on the 26th of this month, he was one of the most successful off-road motorcycle racers of his time, and of all time, having won eight gold medals in the grueling International Six Day Trial between 1966 and 1976. Over the course of his competitive career Smith would win many major world-class events on motorcycles and in cars. He won the Baja 1000 five times, twice on motorcycles and three times in cars. He also won the Baja 500 four times, once on a motorcycle and three times in cars. He won the Mint 400 twice, the Roof of Africa Rallye, and the Atlas Rallye in Morocco, and finished fourth in the Paris–Dakar Rally in 1988. After retiring from racing, he founded the successful company Malcolm Smith Gold Medal Products (which later became Malcolm Smith Racing, and then MSR). He later founded a motorsports dealership in Riverside, California. Smith was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, and the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, a rare trifecta. He appeared in many films including the seminal Bruce Brown motorcycle documentary "On Any Sunday" also starring Steve McQueen and Mert Lawwill. On Any Sunday was nominated for an Academy Award in 1972 for Best Documentary Feature. On his many visits to Mexico to race he had been moved by the poverty he encountered, and as a result he established a non-profit foundation and hosted a six day annual charity ride to raise money for the schools and orphanages supported by his foundation. If you'd like to see Malcom Smith in action, alongside his old friends Steve McQueen and Mert Lawwill, you can watch On Any Sunday here in full: youtu.be/clhXwxmaPsU?si=IKCw… Image Credit: The Malcolm Smith Archives