Scot Harden

Scot Harden
BornJune 16, 1956
Las Vegas, Nevada
NationalityAmerican
Known forOff-Road Motorcycle Racing

Scot Harden is a professional off-road motorcycle racer.[1] He has held managerial and executive positions at Husqvarna, KTM, BMW, and Zero Motorcycles.[1]

Motorcycle racing career

Scot started racing for Husqvarna in 1973.[2] He was the SCORE BAJA 1000 Overall champion.[3] in 1978. His major off-road championships include the Baja 1000, Baja 500, International Six Days Enduro (ISDE), Djerba 500 Rally, SCORE Champion, Best in the Desert and more.[4] He was the AMA National Reliability Series Open Champion in 1982.[5] In 1998 his name was included in the top 10 off-road riders in the history of the sport by Dirt Rider magazine.[4] He captured the crown as the 1994 AMA National Enduro Vet Class Champion.[6] At the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 1996, he took sixth place and Rookie of the Year honors.[5] He was a rider and team manager for the Red Bull KTM Dakar Rally teams in 2004 and 2005.[6]

Motorcycle industry career

He joined Husqvarna in San Diego, California in 1982 as the Husky Products Accessory Manager and Desert/Offroad Team Manager.[2] He was promoted to Western Region Sales Manager and then became the National Sales Manager for Cagiva North America in when they purchased Husqvarna in 1987.[7] In 1988 he joined KTM USA as the Western Region Sales/Desert Racing/Media Relations manager and then became the VP of Marketing and Communications.[2] He returned to Husqvarna in 2008 as the National Sales and Marketing Manager.[7] He was VP of Global Operations[2] for Zero Motorcycles before becoming the Chief Marketing Officer for Gas Gas Motorcycles and the Torrot Group in 2016.[8] He served on the Motorcycle Industry Council's Electric Motorcycle Task Force and board of the Off Road Business Association (ORBA).[1] He serves on the Motorcycle Industry Council's (MIC) Gas Tank mentor program.[9]

Scot is the founder of Harden Offroad which is a consulting business for the power sports industry.[10] He is also the Business Development and Sponsor Relations Director for Best in the Desert.[10]

He was one of the co-writers for the book Chasing Dakar,[11] a guide for adventure riding.

Awards

  • 1998 - AMA Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award.[1]
  • 2008 - Inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.[12]
  • 2014 - AMA Bessie Stringfield Award[13] was given to him and Zero Motorcycles for their efforts to bring new riders into the fold.
  • 2019 - 2019 Friend of the AMA award.[14]
  • 2020 - Inducted into the Trailblazers Hall of Fame.[15]
  • 2020 - Inducted into the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame.[16]
  • 2023 - Inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame | Scot Harden". www.motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  2. ^ a b c d Motorcycles, Zero. "Interview with Zero's Scot Harden". Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  3. ^ "U.S. OFF-ROAD CHAMPIONS, GRAND LIST". Dirt Bike Magazine. 2019-12-26. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  4. ^ a b "AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame". American Motorcyclist Association. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  5. ^ a b "AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame". American Motorcyclist Association. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  6. ^ a b "AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame | Scot Harden". www.motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  7. ^ a b "AMA Hall Of Famer Harden Named National Sales And Marketing Manager For Husqvarna N.A." Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News. 2008-09-09. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  8. ^ Motorcycle.com (2016-06-15). "Torrot/GasGas Announce Scot Harden CMO For North American Operations". Motorcycle.com News. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  9. ^ "Scot Harden, Cinnamon Kernes Join MIC's PowerLily Gas Tank Mentoring Team | Today's Cycle Coverage -- Racing Results every day!". Today's Cycle Coverage -- Racing Results every day! | Racing Results every day!. 2016-01-19. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  10. ^ a b "BEST IN THE DESERT NAMES SCOT HARDEN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT/MARKETING DIRECTOR". Best In The Desert. 2017-11-01. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  11. ^ Harden, Johnathan Edwards M. D. and Scot (2006-09-01). Truscott, Deborah (ed.). Chasing Dakar - a rider's guide to adventure riding, rally preparation and racing. Scott Cox. ISBN 0978709403.
  12. ^ "AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame | Scot Harden". www.motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  13. ^ "Zero Motorcycles/Scot Harden Recipient of 2014 American Motorcyclist Association Award || ZERO MOTORCYCLES". www.zeromotorcycles.com. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  14. ^ "Harden RECEIVES AMA award". AMA. 2018-05-13. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  15. ^ "Hall of Fame". Trailblazers Motorcycle Club, Inc. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  16. ^ Torrez, Tim. "Scot Harden". Hot Shoe Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  17. ^ "Scot Harden". Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2023-08-18.