SAN DIEGO – Marty Smith, a member of the AMA Hall of Fame, and his wife Nancy have died following a dune buggy crash in the California desert.

Smith, who was enshrined in the AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame in 2000, was 63 years old.

Smith rose to prominence in the 1970s by initially claiming a pair of AMA 125cc National Motocross championships in 1974 and ’75. Two years he followed those titles up by winning the AMA 500cc National Motocross championship.

He retired from competition in 1983.