Of the many professional motocross riders who have won championships since I got involved in the sport (around 1966) You have to put AMA Motocross Champion Doug Henry near or at the top of the list in regards to greatness.

Doug is the man who developed the current generation 4 stroke motocross bikes. He was the guy who made them work. He was the guy who Yamaha laid their future in dirtbikes with.

Doug’s resume includes winning the 1993 AMA 125 Motocross and AMA 125 East Supercross Championships, the 1994 AMA 125 Motocross Championship, 1998 AMA 250 Motocross Championship and was named the 1998 AMA Professional Athlete of the Year. Winner of the gold medal in the 2005 X-Games Supermoto race. Doug recorded 25 AMA Supercross/Motocross overall wins during his pro racing career. In 2005 Doug was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

After semi retiring from professional motocross Doug won a GNCC cross-country race in his first attempt on a stock Honda.

From there Doug joined the AMA SuperMoto championship and was a title contender right from the start. And although he never won the championship, it was not for a lack of effort.

Doug Henry was the consummate racer and was a race fans dream. There were few time I can recall NOT seeing Doug accessible and hanging out with race fans. Where many of the bigger names hide in their toterhomes and come out only during autograph sessions. Doug was always out and always hanging out with his crew and the fans.

In early 2007 Doug suffered a devastating and what appears to be a career ending injury while practicing. At the 2007 AMA SuperMoto round in Detroit Doug was missed more than he can know. His legacy does however live on in his teammate Mark Burkhart who has finally ridden to his true potential. Mark won the race and you could almost see in Mark many of the qualities that Doug had in winning championships.

So the bottom line is that I feel that it is important for us to remember riders like Doug. A guy who did not just take the money and run. Doug was one of the few guys who accepted all of the corporate BS that goes along with motorsports racing today and gave everyone 150% of his time when he was at the race track. Guys like Doug and Mark Burkhart are what make motorsport racing a great place to be whether you are doing it or watching it.

Doug was and is an inspiration for any racer who is striving to win a championship.

Doug Henry was the man before and continues to be the man today.

We hope that one day Doug is able to recover and walk again. He deserves that opportunity.

At the 2007 X Games Mark Burkhart gave credit to Doug for his winning championship form.

Doug has suffered more than one devastating injury during his career. Budds Creek, MD was not a track that was kind to Doug over the years and his 1995 crash where he fell from nearly 80 feet in the air to flat ground resulted in Doug breaking his back. Amazingly Doug suffered no paralysis from this insane crash. No Fear sold a poster showing Doug's back and the incision and stitch marks running from below his neck to his waist. Check out the video of the crash. he suffered two broken wrists at Budds Creek, mere feet away from the jump where he had his earlier injury.

Despite all of the devastation to his body Doug rehabbed, rebuilt himself and went on to win yet another motocross championship on the YZ450 he developed for Yamaha.

He stormed into SuperMoto and I have to think this may have been his year had he not been injured. After talking to some Yamaha team members at the Detroit AMA SuperMoto round it appears as though Doug has a long road to travel before or if he ever rides again.

In today’s media driven celebrity, Doug Henry managed to be a credit to his team, his sponsors, to his fans and to himself. He stood out as a real winner in many disciplines of our sport and for that Doug ranks near or at the top in professional motorsports.

It's really hard to put into words all that Doug has done for the sport of motocross and SuperMoto. In terms of sheer will and determination Doug is ranks right up there with Rickey Carmichael one of motorsports elite racers.

I am hoping as I did with David Bailey, Danny Magoo Chandler, Ernesto Fronseca, Wayne Rainey and the many others who have suffered paralysis through a crash that they may have a complete recovery or something close to that so they can go on living a normal life.

As many know this was not the case with Bailey and he has suffered mightily.

One thing that Bailey has fought for and is pushing for riders to wear is the Leatt Brace and I hope that moms, dads and riders old enough to understand that they could suffer the same or like injuries as Doug Henry wear any and all protective gear that will allow them to live a full life long after their racing or riding career ends.

Karoline and I stay hopeful that we'll see Doug will walk again, we are fans Doug!

Additional information

View video of Doug Henry's 1995 crash at Budds Creek

Wings of life - Spinal cord research

If you want to see some of the Doug Henry photos Karoline and I shot at the 2006 Detroit AMA Supermoto race follow this link.