| Mike Baldwin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mike Baldwin (born January 15, 1955 in Pasadena, California) is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. He was a top contender in AMA Superbike racing during the 1980s who also competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Baldwin was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.[1]
Baldwin led the American team to an upset win over the favored British team when he was the highest points scorer at the 1979 Transatlantic Trophy match races.[2] The Transatlantic Trophy match races pitted the best British riders against the top American road racers on 750cc motorcycles in a six-race series in England. Baldwin won five AMA Formula 1 titles as well as becoming the first rider to win three Suzuka 8 Hours races.[3][4][5]
His best finish in the 500cc world championships was a fourth place in the 1986 season while racing for the Kenny Roberts-Yamaha team.[6] Baldwin seemed poised to become one of the top American road racers, but injuries curtailed his career. He rode a Bimota at the WSBK Championship in 1989, scoring a podium finish in France
In 2001, he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.[1]
Grand Prix career statistics
Points system from 1969 to 1987:
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 
| Points | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 
Points system from 1988 to 1992:
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 
| Points | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Class | Team | Machine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Points | Rank | Wins | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 500cc | Zago-Suzuki | RG500 | VEN -  | 
AUT 14  | 
GER 10  | 
NAT 5  | 
ESP 3  | 
YUG -  | 
NED -  | 
BEL -  | 
SWE -  | 
FIN -  | 
GBR -  | 
FRA -  | 
17 | 13th | 0 | |||
| 1981 | 500cc | Suzuki | RG500 | AUT -  | 
GER -  | 
NAT -  | 
FRA NC  | 
YUG -  | 
NED -  | 
BEL -  | 
RSM -  | 
GBR -  | 
FIN -  | 
SWE -  | 
0 | - | 0 | ||||
| 1985 | 500cc | Michael Baldwin Racing | NS500 | RSA 9  | 
ESP 7  | 
GER NC  | 
NAT 11  | 
AUT 7  | 
YUG -  | 
NED NC  | 
BEL 11  | 
FRA 10  | 
GBR -  | 
SWE 7  | 
RSM 8  | 
18 | 11th | 0 | |||
| 1986 | 500cc | Lucky Strike Yamaha | YZR500 | ESP 3  | 
NAT 3  | 
GER 3  | 
AUT 5  | 
YUG 5  | 
NED 3  | 
BEL NC  | 
FRA 4  | 
GBR 18  | 
SWE 3  | 
RSM 4  | 
78 | 4th | 0 | ||||
| 1987 | 500cc | Lucky Strike Yamaha | YZR500 | JPN NC  | 
ESP NC  | 
GER -  | 
NAT -  | 
AUT -  | 
YUG -  | 
NED -  | 
FRA -  | 
GBR -  | 
SWE -  | 
CZE -  | 
RSM -  | 
POR NC  | 
BRA 10  | 
ARG 6  | 
6 | 18th | 0 | 
| 1988 | 500cc | Katayama Racing Team | RS500 | JPN -  | 
USA 10  | 
ESP NC  | 
EXP -  | 
NAT -  | 
GER -  | 
AUT -  | 
NED -  | 
BEL 20  | 
YUG 14  | 
FRA 13  | 
GBR 13  | 
SWE -  | 
CZE -  | 
BRA -  | 
14 | 19th | 0 | 
References
- 1 2 "Mike Baldwin at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
 - ↑ Assoc, American Motorcyclist (July 1979). "Underdog Yanks Blitz British". Retrieved 2 March 2016.
 - ↑ "1978 Suzuka 8 Hours results at Moto Racing Japan". Archived from the original on 2017-10-08. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
 - ↑ "1981 Suzuka 8 Hours results at Moto Racing Japan". Archived from the original on 2017-12-10. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
 - ↑ "1984 Suzuka 8 Hours results at Moto Racing Japan". Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
 - ↑ Mike Baldwin career statistics at MotoGP.com