Danny Hamel 

Rest in Peace Danny- You made magic on that KX500.

All these years later Danny is still a legend you are sadly missed Danny

I grew up in the same town riding the same trails and he was a class act. I remember 1 time at motorcycle tire center he was talking to two 13 or 14 year old kids giving them tips and just talking to them in general for about 15 to 20 minutes and never once did he hurry the conversation he 100% enjoyed talking to these two. There's not very many athletes in their prime that would do that.

wow this guy rode balls to the walls on that KX 500. I just recently learned of who he was and what he accomplished durring his short time here on earth and all I can say is what an amazing human being this young man was and he always had a big smile on his face and everyone he came in contact with just loved and adored him and I know he will be sadly missed by many RIP Danny.

Amazing rider, never backed off or hesitated when riding in a race. Ive only seen a few videos with him and he was born to ride desert. What a sad loss for the rest of us to lose the best of the best in his prime.

All these years later he still has so much effect on the people who knew him. A true champion and a great guy. "The best there was"

Hamel was in GREAT shape for his size! You made this story about yourself.

What an absolute legend. Proved you don't have to be arrogant to run at the top of the game.

I remember being at a Honda pit outside of Valle de Trinidad and the road had a slight rise and bend, he came by wide open, wheels off the ground, and literally inches off the rear bumber of the box van. Smooth as could be, like that was the only line that there was. Never let off, throttle pinned, just doing work.

Rip he’s up riding in heaven

The best there was. That says it all. The only complaints that I have ever heard about Danny was that he left us too soon and he really was to good to beat.

A well deserved honor, he earned it.

This guy was amazing on a bike, I actually have an old VHS baja video with footage of his accident, I didn't know it was him until years later, the bike split in 2 pieces and on flames over a paved road, such an ugly scene to watch, crazy to think back then there were no speed límits on regular traffic roads😢

Awesome.

Yes, the best ever, period.

i remeber that day in Baja..... :(

I'm going to put his name on my kx500.

The best there was.

after watching Danny ride in this video it reminded me of you guessed it ME,the reason I say this is because of my size, I stand 6' 2" tall and weigh in at around 250 lbs and yes my ride of choice is the KX 500 but the reason for this topic being mentioned is because of Danny's size and the way he rode a moto cross bike well not just a moto cross bike but the way he rode the Beast! the Widow Maker! the Kawasaki KX 500! and just the way he crushed the competition anyway the point being is that it just proves what ive been trying to say to folks for a while now that it isn't the size of a rider or the bike rather it all comes down to Balls and skills Period! example I raced 3 guys one on a Honda CR 500 and another on a Kawasaki KX 250 and Billy was on a bad ass Suzuki RM 500 and I know I out weighed each of them by atleast 100 pounds and we did a 3 lap race and i won it with Billy coming in atleast 3 seconds behind me to grab second place. the moral of the story is don't be looking at chunky boy and think ah he aint shit I'll show him up because you might just get the suprise of your life and have all your buddy's laughing and saying to you hey what happened. js