I made a new Canadian friend

This weekend at the Cherokee National Enduro.
As we were waiting for our kids to arrive at the gas stop we struck up a conversation that lasted about 30 minutes. His name is Larry Bastedo and he was the 2nd Yamaha dealer in Canada. We excahanged cards as we left the gas stop and when I looked at his later I learned that he is a member of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.
At 70 + years he is still lovin every minute that he spends around bikes.



Peterborough, Good Friday 1957. #81 Larry Bastedo, Hamilton, AJS passed #1 Ab Everest, Oshawa, AJS on the last lap to take the win in his first Expert class race. Other riders include #99 Lloyd "Torchy" Palser, #11 Bill Strachan and #33 Sheldon Smith.






The Honourable Members
of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame
Lawrence (Larry) Bastedo
Inducted in 2004


An enthusiast of any type of two-wheeled sport, 67-year-old Larry Bastedo of Hamilton has ridden in almost every type of motorcycle competition going. His first major win came in 1957 when he was first in the 500cc division in the Expert class at the Ontario Championship Spring Scrambles. He only lost one race that season, which he capped off by winning the Eastern Canadian Championships in Copetown. In 1958, he won the national championship Spiked Tire Ice Race at St. Agathe, Que. After that, Larry tried his hand at Road Racing and Dirt Track, attaining Senior status in both disciplines. A road race injury led him to Enduros and he was a member and later official with Team Canada at Six Day Trials in Poland, Germany, Spain and Wales. He went first as a rider but later as a support person and finally, in 1989 and 1990, as Canada's Jury Delegate, the team's only link to the organizers. Over the years, Larry gained a wonderful reputation as an announcer, using his knowledge of the riders and great memory to provide extraordinary commentary. In later years, his voice could be heard at Supercrosses. From the first mudbath at the CNE in 1977, through the years at SkyDome, Larry was co-announcer and did the voice-overs for the television post-production. He was also an administrator, and served the provincial and national boards of the Canadian Motorcycle Association as president, vice-president, member-at-large, and so-on. In the late 1980s, Larry arranged for his home club, the Steel City Riders, to take over the running of the legendary Corduroy Enduro from the British Empire Motor Club and it continues to this day.

Here is the link to the CMHF

http://www.cmhf.ca/member_LAWRENCE_BASTEDO.html

and here is a link to a cool site about Canadian moto history

http://www.motoparkracing.com/cmh-5659.html