2017 Greater Vancouver Motorsport Pioneers Society www.gvmps.org MIKE STIDWILL Pioneer - Motorcycles - 2018 Nominee UBC Mike was a key member of the UBC “Urban Vehicle Competition”. The UBC team came in first out of 110 university and tech school entries. The winning entry, the “Wally Wagon” (named after UBC professor and official Walter Gage), is still on display at UBC. A different kind of education came from Mike working for Yamaha Canada and Trev Deeley motorcycles. He cites Greater Vancouver Motorsport Pioneer Bo Work for some important tutelage. After graduation Mike Stidwill started the Speed Co. which undertook car and bike customizing and restoration, and lasted for many years. “The motorsport industry is truly magnetic,” says Mike, “I never consciously chose the path but realize (now) I never could have done anything else. The sport and people in it are Mike Stidwill returned to Canada with his family in 1962 after a few years of living in Asia. Somewhere in those early years Mike was inspired by a high school assembly film on John Surtees, the Honda motorcycle and race car driver, a world champion in both fields. The film planted an early seed in Mike that has never left him. From 1965 to 1972 Mike was constantly spending his weekends racing motorcycles. It was road racing at Westwood; drag bikes at Mission, Arlington, Pacific Raceways and Puyallup; flat track racing at Cloverdale and the Agrodome; and cross country at Ashcroft. During that stretch of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mike went to the University of British Columbia and earned a Mechanical Engineering degree in 1972. During his last year at By Mike Stidwill (edited by Brian Pratt) Nominated by Terry Rea and Jim Greenwood electric to be exposed to.” Mike got involved intensely with the Shelby Ford vehicles which led to setting what were then world record auction prices and very high collector values. Mike has also been a judge several times at the Greater Vancouver Mustang Club shows. Always a motorhead, Mike built custom bikes, boats and cars. He also worked in the aviation field at various levels for thirty years and found frequent lessons and opportunities to trickle down knowledge learned to other technologies. Around 1997 Mike formed Northwest Yamaha Marine and Motorsport Ltd., which continues to this day the “motorsport dreams” that began some many years before. “I can’t conceive of not being connected to the quest for speed and adventure these machines exude.” Clockwise from below: Power boat built by Mike 1972 bathtub race project at UBC Two photos of Mike’s motorcycle entries at Westwood At a Goodyear Tire gathering at Akron, Ohio Mike Stidwell (second from right), working for CP Air at the time, met Grand Prix champion Jackie Stewart (left)

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2017 Greater Vancouver Motorsport Pioneers Society www.gvmps.org

MIKE STIDWILL

Pioneer - Motorcycles - 2018 Nominee

UBC Mike was a key member of the UBC “Urban Vehicle Competition”. The UBC team came in first out of 110 university and tech school entries. The winning entry, the “Wally Wagon” (named after UBC professor and official Walter Gage), is still on display at UBC.

A different kind of education came from Mike working for Yamaha Canada and Trev Deeley motorcycles. He cites Greater Vancouver Motorsport Pioneer Bo Work for some important tutelage.

After graduation Mike Stidwill started the Speed Co. which undertook car and bike customizing and restoration, and lasted for many years.

“The motorsport industry is truly magnetic,” says Mike, “I never consciously chose the path but realize (now) I never could have done anything else. The sport and people in it are

Mike Stidwill returned to Canada with his family in 1962 after a few years of living in Asia. Somewhere in those early years Mike was inspired by a high school assembly film on John Surtees, the Honda motorcycle and race car driver, a world champion in both fields. The film planted an early seed in Mike that has never left him.

From 1965 to 1972 Mike was constantly spending his weekends racing motorcycles. It was road racing at Westwood; drag bikes at Mission, Arlington, Pacific Raceways and Puyallup; flat track racing at Cloverdale and the Agrodome; and cross country at Ashcroft.

During that stretch of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mike went to the University of British Columbia and earned a Mechanical Engineering degree in 1972. During his last year at

By Mike Stidwill (edited by Brian Pratt) Nominated by Terry Rea and Jim Greenwood

electric to be exposed to.” Mike got involved intensely with

the Shelby Ford vehicles which led to setting what were then world record auction prices and very high collector values. Mike has also been a judge several times at the Greater Vancouver Mustang Club shows.

Always a motorhead, Mike built custom bikes, boats and cars. He also worked in the aviation field at various levels for thirty years and found frequent lessons and opportunities to trickle down knowledge learned to other technologies.

Around 1997 Mike formed Northwest Yamaha Marine and Motorsport Ltd., which continues to this day the “motorsport dreams” that began some many years before.

“I can’t conceive of not being connected to the quest for speed and adventure these machines exude.”

Clockwise from below:

Power boat built by Mike

1972 bathtub race project at UBC

Two photos of Mike’s motorcycle entries at Westwood

At a Goodyear Tire gathering at Akron, Ohio Mike Stidwell (second from right),

working for CP Air at the time, met Grand Prix champion Jackie Stewart

(left)