Mike Baldwin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Mike Baldwin (born January 15, 1955 in Pasadena, California) is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. He was a top contender in AMA Superbike racing during the 1980s who also competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Baldwin was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001. [1]
Baldwin led the American team to an upset win over the favored British team when he was the highest points scorer at the 1979 Transatlantic Trophy match races. [2] The Transatlantic Trophy match races pitted the best British riders against the top American road racers on 750cc motorcycles in a six-race series in England. Baldwin won five AMA Formula 1 titles as well as becoming the first rider to win three Suzuka 8 Hours races. [3] [4] [5]
His best finish in the 500cc world championships was a fourth place in the 1986 season while racing for the Kenny Roberts-Yamaha team. [6] Baldwin seemed poised to become one of the top American road racers, but injuries curtailed his career. He rode a Bimota at the WSBK Championship in 1989, scoring a podium finish in France
In 2001, he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. [1]
Points system from 1969 to 1987:
Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Points | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Points system from 1988 to 1992:
Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
Points | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Class | Team | Machine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Points | Rank | Wins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | 500cc | Zago-Suzuki | RG500 | VEN - | AUT 14 | GER 10 | NAT 5 | ESP 3 | YUG - | NED - | BEL - | SWE - | FIN - | GBR - | FRA - | 17 | 13th | 0 | |||
1981 | 500cc | Suzuki | RG500 | AUT - | GER - | NAT - | FRA NC | YUG - | NED - | BEL - | RSM - | GBR - | FIN - | SWE - | 0 | - | 0 | ||||
1985 | 500cc | Michael Baldwin Racing | NS500 | RSA 9 | ESP 7 | GER NC | NAT 11 | AUT 7 | YUG - | NED NC | BEL 11 | FRA 10 | GBR - | SWE 7 | RSM 8 | 18 | 11th | 0 | |||
1986 | 500cc | Lucky Strike Yamaha | YZR500 | ESP 3 | NAT 3 | GER 3 | AUT 5 | YUG 5 | NED 3 | BEL NC | FRA 4 | GBR 18 | SWE 3 | RSM 4 | 78 | 4th | 0 | ||||
1987 | 500cc | Lucky Strike Yamaha | YZR500 | JPN NC | ESP NC | GER - | NAT - | AUT - | YUG - | NED - | FRA - | GBR - | SWE - | CZE - | RSM - | POR NC | BRA 10 | ARG 6 | 6 | 18th | 0 |
1988 | 500cc | Katayama Racing Team | RS500 | JPN - | USA 10 | ESP NC | EXP - | NAT - | GER - | AUT - | NED - | BEL 20 | YUG 14 | FRA 13 | GBR 13 | SWE - | CZE - | BRA - | 14 | 19th | 0 |
Wayne Wesley Rainey is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his smooth, calculating riding style, and for his intense rivalry with compatriot Kevin Schwantz, between 1987 and 1993.
Giacomo Agostini is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Nicknamed Ago, he amassed 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championship titles. Of these, 68 wins and 8 titles came in the 500 cc class, the rest in the 350 cc class. For these achievements obtained over the course of a career spanning 17 years, the AMA described him as "...perhaps the greatest Grand Prix rider of all time". In 2000, Agostini was inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame as a MotoGP Legend, while in 2010, he was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.
Kevin Schwantz is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. He was the world champion of the 1993 FIM Road Racing World Championship.
Kenneth Leroy Roberts is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. Roberts is one of only four riders in American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) racing history to win the AMA Grand Slam, representing Grand National wins at a mile, half-mile, short-track, TT Steeplechase and road race events.
Eddie Ray Lawson is an American former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1983 to 1992.
Randy Mamola is an American former professional motorcycle racer and television sports presenter. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between 1979 and 1992. A 13-time Premier Class race winner, Mamola was one of the most charismatic Grand Prix road racers of his generation, becoming a favourite because of his interaction with race fans both on and off the track as well as his aggressive and spirited riding style.
Frederick Burdette Spencer, sometimes known by the nickname Fast Freddie, is an American former world champion motorcycle racer. Spencer is regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of the early 1980s.
Hugh Neville "Kork" Ballington is a South African former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1976 to 1982, most prominently as a member of the Kawasaki factory racing team with whom he won four FIM road racing world championships. Ballington was inducted into the MotoGP Legends Hall of Fame in 2018.
Wester Steven Cooley,, better known as Wes, was an American former motorcycle road racer in the AMA Superbike class. He won the 1979 and 1980 AMA Superbike Championships on a Yoshimura Suzuki GS1000s.
Fred Merkel is an American former professional motorcycle road racer and two-time Superbike World Champion.
Doug Polen is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. Polen was a dominant national and world champion road racer in the late 1980s and early 1990s, culminating with his Superbike world championships in 1991 and 1992. He raced successfully in AMA Superbike, Japanese Superbike Championship, Superbike World Championship and endurance racing. Polen was inducted to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2011.
Steve Baker is an American former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in AMA dirt track and road racing competitions from 1973 to 1976 and in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships in 1977 and 1978.
David Aldana is an American former professional motorcycle racer who specialized in dirt track oval racing and road racing. In the 1970s, he was one of the more colorful racers in the A.M.A. Grand National Championship with his wild riding style and extravagant designs on his riding attire. Aldana competed in nearly every form of motorcycle racing, including competing in the 1970 Trans-AMA motocross series and speedway racing.
Yvon Duhamel was a French Canadian professional motorcycle and snowmobile racer. A six-time winner of the White Trophy, the highest award in Canadian motorcycle racing, he was one of the most accomplished motorcycle racers in Canadian motorsports history. His motorcycle racing career spanned the transition from the 60 horsepower four-stroke motorcycles of the 1960s, to the 100 horsepower two-stroke motorcycles of the 1970s. Duhamel was a versatile rider competing in numerous motorcycle racing disciplines including; trials, motocross, ice racing, drag racing, flat track racing and most prominently in road racing as a member of the Kawasaki factory racing team.
Kevin Magee is an Australian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who raced in 36 grands prix during his career, winning the 1988 Spanish Grand Prix. He is currently a television commentator for Fox Sports Australia.
Hideo "Pops" Yoshimura was a Japanese motorcycle tuner, race team owner, and manufacturer of specialty motorcycle accessories. He is remembered for his ties to the beginnings of Superbike racing and the Yoshimura factory racing team.
Dick Mann was an American professional motorcycle racer. He was a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. Mann was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1993, and the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998. He was one of the few riders to ride motocross and Observed Trials as well as dirt flat tracks, TT and road racing.
Calvin Rayborn II was a top American professional motorcycle road racer in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Superbike racing is a category of motorcycle racing that employs highly modified production motorcycles, as opposed to MotoGP in which purpose-built motorcycles are used. The Superbike World Championship is the official world championship series, though national Superbike championships are held in many countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Australia and Canada. Superbike racing is generally popular with manufacturers, since it helps promote and sell their product, as captured by the slogan "Win on Sunday; Sell on Monday".
The Transatlantic Trophy was an annual series of motorcycle races between the United Kingdom and America held from 1971 to 1988 and again in 1991. They were mostly held over the Easter weekend at Brands Hatch, Mallory Park and Oulton Park, although some races were held at Donington Park and Snetterton. Three different specifications of motorcycles were used in the series at various times: AMA/F750, Superbike and GP.