The Lake Elsinore Grand Prix

The Elsinore Grand Prix is a dirt bike race that takes place in and around the Lake Elsinore area, starting and finishing in downtown Lake Elsinore. The annual race is usually held in mid-November. The popularity of the event hit its apex in the late 1960s and early 1970s drawing the likes of Dirtbike greats such as Malcolm Smith and Steve McQueen to name a few. The race has always been set as an “open” format, meaning that anyone can ride, usually only about 200 or so take this event seriously, whereas the rest use it as an opportunity to have fun. In 1971 the documentary movie On Any Sunday by Bruce Brown was filmed.

In the mid-1970s the Elsinore Grand Prix hit a snag, none of the big riders were participating and the event was drawing the wrong crowd, mostly violent motorcycle gangs. The Grand Prix was canceled indefinitely soon afterwards. In 1996 several dirt bike riders, with a hint of nostalgia, decided to lobby the City of Lake Elsinore to revive the Grand Prix. Promising that the violent motorcycle gang crowd drawn to the Grand Prix in the 1970s had gone and that dirt bike motorcycle riding was more of a family event, the city allowed the event to resume on a provisional basis.
Picture : Malcolm Smith at Lake Elsinore courtesy of the AMA's Motorcycle hall of fame Museum

SteveMcQueen competed in the 3rd Lake Elsinore Grand Prix riding on a 405-cc Motocross Husky in a field of 500 bikes over the 10 mile course.
"When you're runnin' with the top ten, as I was, you're really honkin' on pretty good an' what happpens is that with so many bikes choppin' up the dirt the holes in the course get worse...deeper with each lap.
I was comin' out of a wash under a bridge with this road dip ahead and I just kinda took one of those big jumps where you're sure you're gonna make it but you don't. And I didn't. My bike nosed into the dip, which was, like, deep - and I went ass-over the bars into the crowd. Didn't hurt anybody but me. My left foot was busted in six places."
This wasn't enough to stop him however, as he got back on the bike and finished the race, still finishing in the top ten!

From Dust to Glory

Dust to Glory (2005) is a documentary about the famous Baja 1000 off-road race. Filming occurred throughout the 2003 event. The film is directed by Dana Brown of Step Into Liquid fame. The film was edited in Adobe Premiere Pro. The film score was by Nathan Furst.

Cast :
Mario Andretti, Sal Fish, Jimmy Vasser, Robby Gordon, Larry Roeseler

Malcolm Smith a Legend

Malcolm Smith (born March 09, 1941 on Saltspring Island, British Columbia, Canada) is an American off-road racing legend.

Smith's first raced in 1956 atop a 1949 Matchless 500cc motorcycle. Later, he was associated with Husqvarna motorcycles. His renown grew as he won races in the 1960s and 1970s. Smith won eight gold medals between 1966 and 1976 in the International Six Day Trial, the European cross-country event.

He is a six-time winner of the Baja 1000, three times on a motorcycle and three times in a car; a four time winner of the Baja 500; has twice won the Mint 400 in Nevada and the Roof of Africa Rallye; participated in the Paris Dakar Rally twice; and was the overall winner of the Atlas Rallye in the mountains of Morocco.

Following his racing career, Smith began developing tools and riding gear with an emphasis on quality and durability. Malcolm Smith Gold Medal Products later became Malcolm Smith Racing (later MSR). MSR was eventually purchased by Tucker Rocky Distributing. He currently operates a motorsports dealership in Riverside, CA.


Malcolm Smith on his first dirtbike, a 1949 Matchless G80CS.
Photo Courtesy Malcolm Smith Motorsports

Smith was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1996 and the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

Racing on Film

Smith's talent on two wheels earned him a starring role in Bruce Brown's classic motorcycle documentary, On Any Sunday, alongside screen legend Steve McQueen and American Motorcyclist Association Grand National Champion Mert Lawwill. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 1972 for Best Documentary Feature.


Malcolm Smith 1974 Soboba Grand Prix courtesy of ivracing

Smith’s combination of blinding speed and down-to-earth charm appealed to audiences, earning him folk-hero status and a devoted following. He continued to appear in motion pictures, including Naturally Free (1975), Dirt (1979), and On Any Sunday II (1981). Recently, Malcolm was featured in the 2005 Baja 1000 documentary hit, Dust to Glory, co-starring Mario Andretti and Robby Gordon.

Off the Track

In 2000, Smith created a non-profit foundation dedicated to giving back to Mexico, the land where his name was made as a racing champion. Every year, Smith hosts a 6-day charity ride to raise money for his schools and orphanages.

The Honda Elsinore CR 250M a Legend

By 1973 Honda was known as a builder of four-stroke motorcycles. Two-stroke bikes were offered by other manufacturers and they were winning the road racing events. In the 70's, four-stroke motorcycles did not stand a chance against two-strokes in motocross racing. In 1973 Honda stunned everyone with its revolutionary Elsinore CR250M two-stroke.



It was Honda's first two-stroke (apart from some early attempts 25 years before) and the first purpose-built, production motocross machine from Honda. It changed motocross bikes forever with its amazing light weight, 29 horsepower (22 kW) over a broad RPM band, and superlative handling. As a complete package, it was the fastest thing on the starting line and challenged the established European dominance.



In the bikes rookie year 1973, a modified Elsinore ridden by Gary Jones won Honda its first ever AMA 250 National title and then proved it wasn't a fluke by winning it again in 1974. In time, this bike became the most successful motocross bike in AMA history, winning 24 National and Supercross titles.

The Elsinore's quality and durability were, at that time, in a class by themselves, and signaled Honda's corporate commitment to the growth and development of world class bikes for years to come.

Roger De Coster. A motorcycle Icone

Roger De Coster (born August 28, 1944 in Uccle) is a Belgian motocross racer. His name is almost synonymous with the sport of motocross. He won five 500cc Motocross World Championships and tallied a record 36 500cc Grand Prix victories. He was known for his smooth, controlled riding style and a commitment to physical training. His training regime gave him the stamina that allowed him to circulate for most of the race in mid-pack before putting in a late charge through the field to victory when other racers had begun to tire. His stature is such in the world of motocross that he is often simply referred to as "The Man." He was also a Gold Medalist in the 1964 International Six Day Trial, a four-time winner of the Trans-AMA series, and won the 1964 Belgian Observed Trials National Championship.



De Coster began his professional career with the Czechoslovakian firm ČZ racing in the 500cc class. He won the 500cc Belgian National Championship in 1966 and moved up to the Grand Prix World Championship in 1967. He won his first 500cc Grand Prix in 1968.



In 1971, De Coster made the difficult decision to leave ČZ and join the Japanese firm Suzuki. It was with Suzuki that he would attain his greatest success, winning the 500cc Motocross World Championship three years in a row in 1971, 1972 and 1973 before Heikki Mikkola dethroned him in 1974. De Coster came back and regained the World Championship for the 1975 and 1976 seasons. By the mid-seventies, he had established himself as the greatest motocrosser of all time. In 1980, He joined Honda for one final season. He left the sport on top, winning his final world championship race — the 500cc Motocross Grand Prix of Luxembourg at the end of the 1980 season.



After his racing career, De Coster became a United States citizen and remained involved in the sport, becoming the motocross team manager for Honda. He has since returned to Suzuki, managing their U.S. motocross squad that has won American National race events and championships. He has also managed Team USA in the Motocross of Nations.

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