Mat Mladin inducted into AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
Following weeks of voting, the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame announced the five inductees who will be honoured during the 2024 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Oct. 10 in Pickerington, Ohio.
The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2024 is Mike Lafferty, Debbie Matthews, Mat Mladin, Rob Rasor and Kevin Windham.
Hall of Fame inductees are selected from eight areas of influence: Ambassadors/Industry, Design/Engineering, Dirt Track, Leadership/Motorcycle Rights, Motocross/Supercross, Off-Road, Road Racing and Specialty Competition.
“This year’s class represents a wide range of individuals who have helped push motorcycling forward, both as a sport and as a lifestyle,” AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman said. “Without the contributions of these racers, ambassadors and leaders, motorcycling would not be where it is today. We look forward to enshrining the legacies of these five outstanding motorcyclists into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame on Oct. 10.”
The Induction Ceremony will headline the AMA’s Hall of Fame Days, which is set for Oct. 10-13, and will include an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Bike Night and open house at the Hall of Fame Museum. The Induction Ceremony will take place at the nearby Violet Township Event Center on Oct. 10, followed by a cocktail reception at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Mat Mladin
In a 10-year span from 1999 to 2009 that continues to defy belief in hindsight, Mat Mladin notched seven AMA Superbike titles and won 82 AMA Superbike nationals in the process — each of those numbers more than anyone in history.
Mladin also won the legendary Daytona 200 three times during that period, achievements that have him tied for third all-time behind AMA Hall of Famers and multi-time Daytona 200 winners Scott Russell (five) and Miguel Duhamel (four). In 1999, he won his first of seven AMA Superbike titles — achievements that would make him, according to series promoter MotoAmerica, “the most dominant rider in the history of the AMA Superbike Championship.”
Mladin retired in 2009 after wrapping his seventh AMA Superbike Championship.
Mike Lafferty
Mike Lafferty was bitten by the enduro racing bug in 1982 when he was 7 years old, and he turned this passion into one of the most successful off-road careers ever. Racing throughout the 1980s, Lafferty broke through when he won back-to-back East Coast Enduro Association championships as a teenager in 1993 and 1994.
Lafferty hit a launching point in 1997, when he claimed his first AMA National Enduro Championship. In total he tallied 71 National Enduro wins — second all-time — and eight titles, which leaves him tied for the most all-time. Lafferty also raced AMA Grand National Cross Country and was a member of four U.S. ISDE teams.
Debbie Matthews
Debbie Matthews has spent her life contributing to motorcycling and has done so by serving in — and excelling in — almost every role the sport has to offer to increase opportunities for women riders. Known for her smooth and effortless racing style, Matthews set the record for longest consecutive pro and amateur career in women’s motocross when she raced for 27 years.
In 1996, she co-founded the Women’s Motocross League, and Matthews further worked on behalf of women riders when she met with AMA Congress and drove the change to give women “A” Rider classification for the first time in history. Recognizing Matthews’ work promoting women’s motocross, announcer Erv Braun described her as the “Godmother of Women’s MX.”
Rob Rasor
For decades, Rob Rasor was instrumental in carrying out the AMA’s mission to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling.
Hired in 1973 as part of the AMA’s Government Relations Department, Rasor helped ward off a federal “superbike” ban, helmet requirements and bike bans in several states and cities, and aided in the fight to ban healthcare discrimination against motorcyclists. Rasor was also a champion for off-road riding and led the AMA’s efforts to win public land access for off-road riders.
Rasor’s efforts extended beyond the United States, and he was awarded the FIM Nicolas Rodi Del Valle Gold Medal in 2019.
Kevin Windham
Kevin Windham’s 19-year AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross career is one for the history books.
During his long, illustrious career, Windham raced to 47 total AMA Pro wins and collected the third-most starts (325), third-most points (9,070) and the seventh-most podiums (130). While Windham saw success domestically, he thrived in international competition — winning the 1999 FIM United States Grand Prix and 2005 Motocross of Nations as a member of the American team.
Windham retired from AMA professional racing in 2013, marking the end of a dominant career in the AMA and international circuits.
