Inducted 2009 – Competitor – Motorcycle Racing
If it involved two wheels, there is a good chance Carl Bastedo had something to do with it.
For more than 50 years Bastedo has contributed to the Canadian motorcycle scene, in competition, education, motorcycle shows, and motorcycle journalism.
At 16, Bastedo became the youngest rider in the Canadian Motorcycle Association to obtain a competition license. In his early years he motocrossed and ran a motorcycle shop. In 1967 Bastedo took part in the first of several trial events on an international scale with his riding of a Yamaha in Poland, the first time a Japanese machine had been used in such an event.
Along with his motocross school in Niagara Falls, Bastedo delved into the business of motorcycles in Canada, setting up the Kawasaki network in this country as well as helping to develop the Canadian Motorcycle Industry in the early 1970s. The following year he was instrumental in the introduction of Cycle Canada a national periodical. In 1977 Bastedo continued to promote motorcycles with the introduction of the National Motorcycle Show, held at the Exhibition Grounds in Toronto.
His racing activity continued, as he promoted the first Supercross, also in Toronto, first in Toronto in 1980, but eventually across the county in major centers. He also helped to bring the World Motocross Championship to Canada in the mid-1980s.
In 1995 Bastedo opened Motopark, a full-time motorcycle sports recreational facility, and in 2002 provided his expertise for television productions about the Supercross events. His latest projects include the Motocross of Nationals, assembling the Canadian team for this global competition, an expanded Motopark, and compiling and documenting the first 50 years of motocross in Canada.