Last week, we learned former pro rider Mike Healey passed away from a heart attack. Here is what Davey Coombs wrote in Racerhead #27 last Friday:
Wait, damn, one more thing—and it’s not good. I just got off the phone with my old friend and Dirt Rider boss Ken Faught and he told me that the rumor is true: Mike Healey passed away. He was found face-down in his bedroom, likely from a heart attack. Healey was a SoCal minicycle hot shoe-turned-125 SX winner-turned-Grand Prix star in Europe. He won several Grand Prix races and came very close to winning the 1991 250cc FIM Motocross World Championship. He was the playful bad boy on the GP circuit, a rock-and-roller who raced dirt bikes, but the years after his career ended saw him struggle for years with addiction issues before he ultimately went to prison. After he was out, he became a barber in Costa Mesa and was doing quite well, by all accounts. Ken was close to Mike as they grew up together and he helped him often along the way. We are very sorry to hear that he’s now gone. Godspeed, Mike Healey.
For more on Healey, check out this feature from yesteryear. In our November 2012 issue of Racer X Illustrated, Eric Johnson wrote a feature on Healey, which you can read below.
