American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 173 December 2013 | Page 8

Mark Blackwell named an AMA Hall of Fame 'Legend'
THE AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
Induction Ceremony, which took place
in October, not only saw six new industry
figures inducted, but also celebrated the
careers of two existing Hall of Famers as
Hall of Fame Legends.

One of those was Mark Blackwell,
former motorcross racer and six-time
AMA championship race team
manager, who is now VP Motorcycles
at Polaris Industries and newly elected
Chairman of the MIC (Motorcycle

Industry Council).
Blackwell won the American
500cc motocross championship in
1971 and started off the 1972
season with a win at the Daytona
motocross. After his racing career,

Blackwell managed the Suzuki Race
Team to six AMA championships, did
product development for a number
of MX-related companies, and then
went on to work in management for
Suzuki, Husqvarna and Victory.
After several years as an MIC
committee man he became
Chairman this year, succeeding
former Cycle World publisher Larry
Little, who stepped aside in order to
focus on his new role as Vice
President of Marketplace Events, the
company behind the successful new
AIMExpo that made its debut in
Orlando, Florida, in October this year.
“Thanks to the AMA and the
Heritage Foundation Board for this
prestigious honor, and for raising
the bar in terms of the class of this
event - you have raised the bar
every year and we are certainly a
long way from the tent in the AMA
parking lot 13 years ago,”
Blackwell said. “And a very special
thanks to the sponsors who have
stepped up to help make this a
great event and hopefully a big
inspiration for the future leaders of
our sport and industry.”
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