Sunday 18 December: At the MXoN in France there were famous faces I recognised, there were some I didn't. This was one I didn't but was fascinated with his retro JT Racing cap. Photographer Dick Koers, who was travelling with us, told me who he was.
Jean-Michel Bayle was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in 2000. The following is his bio courtesy of the AMA.
1991 250cc and 500cc Motocross National Champion.
1991 Supercross Champion
Jean Michel Bayle
is a multi-time AMA and World Motocross Champion who later turned to
road racing, where he also enjoyed success on the world stage. Over the
course of his career he raced with a variety of manufacturers, including
Kawasaki, Honda, Aprilia, Team Roberts KR3, and Yamaha. He has also
piloted cars in off-road rally and touring car races.
Born April 1, 1969 in Manosque, France, Jean Michele Bayle began
riding motorcycles at age 6. He raced throughout the early 1980s as an
amateur, and at age 13 won the 1982 Provence Championship. In 1985 at
age 16 he entered the 250cc class at the Paris Bercy Supercross, racing
aboard a Kawasaki. While his Bercy results were not impressive, this was
his first taste of racing against an international field of
competitors, including many AMA Supercross stars of the time.
In 1986 Bayle finished 4th in the French National 125cc Motocross
Championship. He also raced in the 125cc World Championship, where he
earned points and finished 24th at season’s end.
In 1987 he switched to Honda with plans to race in the World 125cc
Championship, the French National 125cc Motocross Championship, and the
250cc class of the French National Supercross series. Bayle dominated
the French 125cc class, winning his first national title, and earned
3rd-place in the World 125cc Championship. In 1988, he went on the win
the World 125cc Motocross Championship, the French National 125cc
Motocross title, and the French 250cc Supercross title.
In 1989, after consulting with Honda Racing’s Roger DeCoster (also
an AMA Hall of Fame member), Bayle planned to race a limited season in
the U.S. aboard a 250cc machine, then race in the World 250cc
Championship, and then return to the U.S. to race in the AMA 500cc
Motocross Championship. Bayle acquired an AMA competition license and
trained in California, then entered and won the AMA 250cc Motocross race
in Gainesville, Florida. He then campaigned and won the World 250cc
Championship. Ironically, the Frenchman became World Champion while
licensed as a U.S.-based AMA competitor. He followed up with a win at
the AMA 500cc Motocross race in New Berlin, New York, and finished that
season ranked fifth overall while racing against such notable
contemporaries as Jeff Ward, Jeff Stanton and Rick Johnson, among
others.
In 1990 Bayle returned to the U.S. to race in the AMA 125cc
Motocross Championship, where he earned three overall wins and was
ranked fourth overall in points. He contested the AMA 250cc Supercross
Series, earning five wins and finishing as runner-up for the title.
In 1991 Bayle and Honda set their sights on winning the AMA 250cc
and 500cc Motocross Championships, as well as the AMA 250cc Supercross
title. Bayle went on to earn three wins and the title of the six-race
AMA 500cc Motocross Championship (the remaining three races were won by
Jeff Ward). He also won the AMA 250cc Motocross Championship, and took
the AMA 250cc Supercross Series title with eight wins.
Bayle entered the 1992 AMA 250cc Motocross Championship, taking a
win at Troy, Ohio, and earning three wins in the AMA 250cc Supercross
Series, but his career would change course for the 1993 season.
Having entered the 1992 French Grand Prix 250cc road race aboard a
Honda, in 1993 Bayle switched entirely to road racing. He teamed with
Aprilia in the World 250cc Championship, finishing that season ranked
22nd, with a best result of 8th place at the British Grand Prix. He
improved in 1994, earning top-five finishes at the British and Czech
Republic Grand Prix. Bayle continued with Aprilia for the 1995 World
250cc Championship, earning pole position at the Argentina Grand Prix.
In 1996 he moved up to the World 500cc Championship riding a Team
Roberts Yamaha. He earned five top-five finishes, and took pole position
at the Czech Republic GP. In 1997 he rode the Modenas KR3 and finished
the season ranked 19th. He continued to race in the World 500cc
Championship in 1998, taking pole position and a top-five finish at
Imola aboard a Team Rainey Yamaha. He raced his final year in the World
500cc Championship in 1999 aboard the Proton Modenas KR3.
In 2002, Bayle teamed with Sébastien Gimbert and Nicolas Dussauge to
win the Bol d'Or and the 24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycle road course
endurance races. In the mid-2000s Bayle’s career took another turn as he
moved to four wheels, competing in Touring Car and Off-Road Rally races
in Europe.