Former Mini Wunderkind,
GP Racer Passes
M
ike "The Gunner" Healey,
who was one of the highest-
rated motocrossers to graduate
from the minicycle ranks in the
early 1980s, was found dead at
home after having what is sus
-
pected to be a heart attack.
Healey rose to stardom dur-
ing his minicycle years, turning
heads at the Ponca City NMA
Amateur Motocross Champion
-
ships and other major amateur
races around the country. The
Californian signed with R&D
Suzuki and won the first official
125cc AMA Supercross race,
which was held at Anaheim in
1985. He won the first three
125cc West Supercross races
that year and was destined to be
the first 125cc West Champion
until breaking his femur
and having to sit out the
final round. Bobby Moore
went on to win the title.
In 1986, after a dispute
with his team bosses,
Suzuki fired Healey mid
-
season. Healey returned
the following year on a
Cagiva, had moderate suc
-
cess, and eventually left
the AMA Nationals and fo-
cused his racing attention
overseas. In 1991, Healey
rode a KTM and enjoyed
one of his finest racing
seasons ever in the 250cc World
Championship when he battled
fellow American Trampas Parker
and Italy's Alessandro Puzar for
the number-one plate. The final
round of the series
in Japan would
decide the cham
-
pionship. Despite
finishing second
overall to a visiting
Jeff Stanton, Parker,
who was fourth
overall on the day,
edged out Healey
for the 1991 250cc
World Champion
-
ship title by three
points. Puzar, third
overall in Japan, fin-
ished just six points
behind Healey in the
championship.
After the race in
Japan, Healey, said,
"The [Americans]
can call us 'has-
beens' and 'never-
weres' all they want, but I felt like
I proved something out there."
After his racing days, his
personal life spiraled out of
control as one of the original
"bad boys" of motocross. Healey
struggled with addiction after
getting hooked on pain medica
-
tions as he battled chronic pain.
Healey stepped out of the racing
spotlight and spent several years
battling mostly drug-related life
adversities, which included a
stint in prison.
Luckily, Healey eventually
decided to turn his life around,
went to cosmetology school,
and got a job as a barber in
Costa Mesa, California. He was
reportedly enjoying life before
his passing.
CN
VOLUME ISSUE JULY , P33
(Above) Southern Californian Mike
Healey was a minicycle prodigy in
the early 1980s. (Below) Healey, aka
"The Gunner," lost the 1991 250cc
MX World Championship by a mere
three points to fellow American
Trampas Parker.
