Mert Lawwill

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Mert Lawwill is an American dirttrack and road racer born on September 25 1940 in Boise Idaho He started his racing career as an amateur racer on the local TT track in Boise and later scramble races across the United States Northwest He turned professional in 1963 after moving to California and in 1964 signed a contract to race dirttrack for manufacturer HarleyDavidson with which he would stay for the rest of his racing career He won his first AMA national race at the famous Sacramento Mile on September 19 1965 He won the 1969 AMA Grand National Championship and was voted AMAs Most Popular Rider of the Year the same year His popularity earned him a costarring role in Bruce Browns classic 1971 motorcycle epic On Any Sunday with actor Steve McQueen and offroad legend Malcolm Smith This film revealed Mert Lawwills talents as a technician but unfortunately showcased a series of DNFs But by the time he retired in 1977 due to an innerear disorder that affected his balance he had amassed an incredible 161 career AMA Grand National finishes during his 15year racing career He is now spending his time developing race motorcycles as well as mountain bikes He also developed a prosthetic to allow arm amputees to ride a motorcycle He was inducted in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998 Description above from the Wikipedia article Mert Lawwill licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia