The Board of Directors of the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame is pleased to announce another Member of the Class of 2017.   Mike Konopacki will be honoured at the 12th annual Induction Banquet and Reunion which takes place November 4th, 2017 at the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel.

Mike was born in Bowmanville and motorcycling started off at a young age. It was his older brother and his friends that taught him how to ride, “My brother and his friends were always the crazy ones, so I hung out with them.”

Drag racing came early to Mike, “In the early 1980’s, I went to Cayuga, Ontario and saw my first drag race. That was it, I was hooked.” Initially what attracted Mike was the adrenalin and the challenge of Sportsman racing, “I love the speed and the challenge.” During the 1980’s, Mike began racing at drag strips in Canada and in the USA. “My first race bike was a 1973 Kawasaki 900 that was punched out to about 1075cc and it was my street bike as well. It was a lot of fun.”

Mike was one of the early Sportsman racers to enter into multiple classes and race more than one bike at the same national event. His appetite for drag racing back then was immense and his success level was high. “I usually raced in three, sometimes four classes during a weekend, sometimes with 2 or more different bikes. It was a very hectic time for me.” You can see how Mike honed his skills to a knife edge. There’s no substitute for seat time and Konopacki had a lot of that during his racing years.

During Mike’s primary racing years, he amassed over 100 final round appearances, over 400 round wins and 9 number 1 qualifying spots between racing in Super Comp, Top Gas and ET class competition. His biggest win, or most memorable: his triple championship achievement during the 2009, AMA/PAROSTAR season.

The Chair of the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame Board and all the Directors, are pleased and honoured to welcome Mike Konopacki to the Class of 2017.