SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
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MALCOLM SMITH’S 1966 HUSQVARNA 250 The Rider And Motorcycle That Started A BaJa Legacy By SCORE Journal Staff Photography by Jack Wright nMedia3 Before the very first Mexican 1000, Malcolm Smith was already making a name for himself in Hare and Hound competition as well as a new form of motorcycle racing in the desert. After winning numerous races and riding everything from a 1949 Matchless, a BSA Gold Star, and a Greeves 250cc, Smith had a shop in Riverside, California as his base of operations. He was approached by Edison Dye, a motorcycle pioneer (later inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame and considered to be the father of motocross in the United States), who was representing Husqvarna at the time. Dye wanted Smith to ride one of the first 50 Husqvarna bikes that were imported to the United States in 1966, due to Smith’s incredible talent and potential as a rising star in motorcycle racing. Smith tried out the 1966 250cc motorcycle and was impressed and wanted to try it during a desert race the following weekend. “All it took was one ride and I was sold,” said Smith in an interview with Motorcyclist Magazine. Smith won the race by more than 20-minutes and became the number one rider and a dealer for Husqvarna ever since. After winning more races, including the International Six Day Trial, a form of off-road Olympics for motorcycle competition, Smith heard of the timed runs in Baja Mexico that turned into an official off-road race. Smith entered the first 1967 Mexican 1000 with professional off-road and enduro racer J.N. Roberts on a 1966 Husqvarna, similar to the replica on display at the Malcolm Smith Motorsports dealership in Riverside, California. The motorcycle was built with a single-cylinder, two-stroke 250cc engine that is air-cooled and uses a single carburetor and has an 8-speed transmission. Although the original motorcycle Smith raced was the first of 50 ever imported into the United States, this particular motorcycle is the 180th bike Husqvarna produced that year, and has been restored to make it identical to what Malcolm Smith raced in the early years of Baja and other events. The motorcycle at the time had relatively stock components but Smith added a spare wheel wrench and sparkplug holder to the front fork. Smith and Roberts won the 1967 Baja 1000 overall in the motorcycle division with a time of 28:48 on the Husqvarna. Smith won the race overall again in the motorcycle division in 1969 and 1971 with Sweden’s Gunnar Nilsson. That same year (1971) Smith rode with Roberts again to win the Baja 500 on a Husqvarna, in the motorcycle division. Husqvarna motorcycles made their mark in early Baja racing history, especially with Smith’s riding skills. The combination attracted more motorcycle riders to compete and eventually created a long list of legendary Baja racers and two-wheeled machines over the next five decades of Baja’s racing history. SCORE BaJa 1000 Overall Wins 1967 with J.N.Roberts: Husqvarna 1971 with Gunnar Nilsson: Husqvarna 1975 with Bud Feldkamp: Funco VW 1977 with Bud Feldkamp: Funco VW 1987 with Bob Gordon: Chenowth Porsche SCORE BaJa 1000 Class Wins 1967, 1969, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1982, 1987, 2004 SCORE BaJa 500 Overall Wins 1971 with J.N. Roberts :Husqvarna 1978 with with Bud Feldkamp: Funco VW 1979 with Bud Feldkamp: Funco VW 1981 with Bill Newbury: Chenowth Chevy SCORE BaJa 500 Class Wins 1971, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982