The following is from Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.:
Orlando, FL – October 14, 2016–On Friday, during a special, invitation-only dealer luncheon held at the AIMExpo in Orlando, FL, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., honored 10 of its racing legends by inducting them onto the “Yamaha Wall of Champions.” Each of the Champions received a special plaque commemorating the honor, and duplicates of the plaques that the Champions received will go on the Wall off Champions at Yamaha Motor Corporation’s U.S. headquarters in Cypress, CA., joining the plaques of those Yamaha Champions who have already been inducted in recent years.
The 10 Yamaha racing legends who were inducted today include 2005 AMA Supermoto Lites and 2007 AMA Supermoto Champion Mark Burkhart; 1998 AMA 125cc West Region Supercross Champion John Dowd; 2003 AMA Supersport, 2006 AMA Supersport, and 2006 AMA Superstock Champion Jamie Hacking; 2003 AMA GNCC XC1 Motorcycle Champion Barry Hawk; 2004 AMA National Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins; 1998 AMA 250cc Motocross Champion Doug Henry; 1994 AMA 600 Supersport Champion Jamie James, 1995 AMA 750 Supersport Champion Tom Kipp, 1979 AMA 250 Grand Prix Champion Freddie Spencer, and 1991 AMA Superbike Champion Thomas Stevens.
“The Yamaha Wall of Champions represents a commitment to excellence and a dedication to being the best, on race day and every day,” commented Keith McCarty, Motorsports Racing Division Manager for Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. “Yamaha congratulates all of our 2016 Wall of Champions inductees, and we thank them for representing our company, our employees, our dealers, and the Yamaha brand like true professionals. These 10 riders brought a lot of racing success to the Yamaha brand, with their many victories and championships. It’s great to be able to honor them here today.”
Here is a synopsis of the motocross and off-road champions inducted to the Yamaha Wall of Champions:
Mark Burkhart
Raised as a motocrosser, Mark started out on a Yamaha PW50 and scored an AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship in the B class before turning pro and eventually transitioning to the growing sport of Supermoto. It wasn’t long before he was a frontrunner, and he won the 2005 AMA Supermoto Lites Championship aboard a Graves Motorsports/Yamaha YZ250F. In 2007, Mark won the AMA Supermoto Championship on his Graves Motorsports/Yamaha YZ450F. And, in 2008, he made an incredible tenth-to-first charge to win the Gold Helmet at ESPN’s inaugural Moto-X World Championships.