By Michael Dapper
VRA Page Webmaster Mark Blackwell is the Vice President, Victory Motorcycles and International Operations, but one of his all-time favorite bikes is a – gasp! – Husqvarna!
Mark is featured in the May 2007 issue of
MOTORCYCLIST magazine (page 15) in the feature called “The Bike That Changed My Life.”
He is quoted talking about the 1971 Husqvarna 400 that he raced on in the early days of motocross in the United States. Mark won the first-ever AMA motocross title on that bike – the 1972 AMA 500cc Motocross Championship – and other important victories.
After he retired as a racer, Mark directed the Suzuki motocross racing program and is credited with instilling a new high level of professionalism into the sport. In 2000, he was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum located in Pickerington, Ohio.
For most of this decade, he has been General Manager of the Victory Motorcycle division, and in 2005, he was named Vice President of Victory Motorcycles and International Operations for Polaris, Victory’s parent company.
Motorcycle Hall of Fame NEW LOOK FOR MOTORCYCLIST MOTORCYCLIST has introduced a totally redesigned magazine with its May 2007 issue, and it’s very well done. The issue contains loads of info and a high number of articles because the new design accommodates a lot of information as well as big, appealing photography.
Kudos to the
MOTORCYCLIST team for a job well done.
The May issue also contains a comparison of the Hammer S and the H-D Night Rod Special.
www.motorcyclistonline.com The May issue of Cycle World magazine contains Test Editor Don Canet’s impressions about the Kingpin Tour. Don knows his bikes, and considering that he is, at heart, a high-performance sport bike freak (and we mean that as a compliment), it’s flattering to read his praise for the Kingpin Tour.
www.cycleworld.com. VICTORY WOMEN – EXTENDED We’re posting new Victory Women profiles every other day in April, but we’re going to run out of days in the month before we run out of profiles. So look for the string of profiles to continue into May.
You’ll find them in the V Rider of the Month section of the VRA Page.
And if you Victory Women (or their significant others) keep submitting profile info and photos, we’ll keep running them. So keep ‘em coming!
victorymailbag@polarisind.com DON’T MISS THIS STORY It doesn’t matter what your view is regarding the occupation/war/surge in Iraq. There is a story on the Polaris ESCAPE website that isn’t about war – it’s about a young family taking extraordinary steps to stay as close as possible while the dad/husband of the family recovers from war wounds far from home.
Polaris pitched in and helped unite the family during one of its monthly get-togethers. It would be great to come up with additional ways to help them – and families like them – out.
Read the article here:
Polaris ESCAPE