Dave Ekins Inducted into Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame

With the 50th running of the SCORE Baja 1000 slated to head off the starting line next week, it was only fitting that Dave Ekins, the man who provided the spark that ignited the passion for racing in Baja California Mexico, was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame at the South Point Hotel & Casino last night in a ceremony co-hosted by none other than multi-time AMA motocross and supercross national champion Ricky Johnson.

Born in Los Angeles, Calofornia, 1932, Dave Ekins, the younger brother of off-road motorcycling legend and stuntman Bud Ekins, ultimately pushed his own name to legendary status in several ways, but perhaps the most important to the country of Mexico came in 1962, when he and friend Bill Robertson rode their Honda twins from Tijuana to La Paz in less than 40 hours, setting a new speed record for traveling the route. The pair rode Honda twins, as Dave Ekins was one of the first American riders selected by Honda to represent its competitive efforts in America. The peninsula run by Robertson and Dave Ekins received a lot of interest, and it wasn’t long before other riders attempted to break their record. One such competitor, Ed Pearlman, would go on to found the NORRA Mexican 1000, which later became known as the Baja 1000. The first Mexican 1000 took place in 1967.

Dave Ekins would later go on to compete as a member of the first American team–along with brother Bud Ekins, acting legend Steve McQueen and off-road racer Cliff Coleman–to contest the 1964 International Six Day Trial. In five ISDT appearances, Dave Ekins earned to gold medals and one bronze medal. In 1967, Ekins won the notoriously tough Greenhorn Enduro on a 100cc Zundapp.

Always interested in improving motorcycles as well as racing, Dave Ekins also founded the Sunline brand of motorcycle parts and accessories.

Dave Ekins was inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame way back in 2001.