Ogilvie has captivated the off road desert racing world on two wheels for the past 25 years. He was crowned the 1986 SCORE Baja 1000 Champion and last year he was inducted into the Baja Legacy Hall of Fame at the famed Ensenada Ranch. Bruce has long been regarded as the master of the two wheel championships as he led American Honda's off road race team to an unbelievable 17 championships before handing the reigns to the Honda's Johnny Campbell.
Bruce Ogilvie touched thousands of off road enthusiasts over his grand career in both a professional and personal sense. He is a champion who made a tremendous commitment to the world of off road over the long haul. He has long been known as, "Mr. XR," for his dedication to his decades long research and development of the Honda off road motorcycle while managing one of the greatest race teams of all time.
Baja Racing News ran into Bruce all over Baja for many years. Over many breakfasts in Ensenada at the old La Pinta Inn. With the kids in the pool at the Mar in Cabo. Some of our last meetings were the 2008 Baja 1000 in Ensenada, the 2007 Baja 1000 in Cabo San Lucas at the Mar de Cortez Hotel over many lunches and the 2006 Baja 1000 in La Paz, Baja Sur over lunch at the Mariscos House on the Sea of Cortez at Playa Coyote.
In the 2006 meeting, it seemed we always met with Bruce, on the road during races or at the finish line cities, savoring victory in Baja. The 2006 meet was special, with the Baja Safari Class 11 Solorzano Team and friends from the Herbst Motorsports Team, included.
Each time, Bruce was a humble and open representative of Honda, talking about all the internal goings on and what the future held in desert off-road racing in Baja, Mexico. Our prayers go to his friends and family.