SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1482081
THE GRAND MARSHAL SCORE Motorcycle Champion Scot Harden By SCORE Journal Staff Photos courtesy Scot Harden With one of the most impressive racing careers in all of motorcycle off-road racing, Scot Harden accepted the role of Grand Marshal for the 55th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts. Harden began his career in the 1970s, and SCORE alone, he has two SCORE Baja 1000 overall wins, three SCORE Baja 500 wins, two SCORE Parker 400 wins, and a 1979 SCORE Pro Moto Unlimited Class Championship. In 1977 and ’78 he and his riding partner Brent Wallingsford set a record for consecutive SCORE motorcycle overall event wins with five straight during that time. Harden’s racing experience goes beyond off-road desert racing that includes being a three-time International Six-Day Enduro (ISDE) medalist where he earned gold, silver, and bronze in the early 1980s In 1996 he finished sixth in the Pike’s Peak Hill Climb in Colorado, earning Rookie of the Year honors. He continued to compete professionally in SCORE events until 2007, ranking in the top ten of his class at many races. The overall knowledge and experience he gained throughout his career, also put him in managerial and executive positions with a variety of OE motorcycle manufacturers. One was serving as the race team manager for KTM and Husqvarna and helping champions such as Dan Smith, Dan Ashcraft, Danny Hamel, and many others to the podium in places like Dakar and Pike’s Peak. A true “legendary rider” Harden was inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association Hall Of Fame (AMA) in 2008, inducted into the Trailblazers HOF in 2020, and the Hot Shoe HOF in 2020. While Harden is retired from professional motorcycle racing, his love for the sport continues to be his passion. He, and legendary SCORE Baja Champion Johnny Campbell, are on a mission to inspire current and new generations of motorcycle racers with the Handstands at 100 MPH events, designed to recognize the accomplishments of desert and Baja motorcycle racing legends past and present. “Scot Harden’s efforts to continue the promotion and legacies of off-road racers are essential for new motorcycle racers to know whose shoulders they are standing on,” says Jim Ryan SCORE VP of Marketing. “Preserving the past and strengthening the future of motorcycle racers in Baja racing is important to SCORE and we are proud that Scot has accepted the Grand Marshal honors for this race, allowing us to honor him as he does others.”SJ Harden riding a Husqvarna 390 at the 1978 SCORE BaJa 500