ultimatemotorcycling.com - Mert Lawwill: Before On Any Sunday and Beyond
In this shot, Mert Lawwill’s Harley-Davidson Sprint sported his #18 plate. For the 1970 season, Lawwill ran the champion’s #1 plate.
Mert Lawwill: Before On Any Sunday and Beyond
Fifty-five years ago, it was the Summer of ’69. Harley-Davidson factory rider Mert Lawwill was crowned the American Motorcycle Association’s Grand National Champion of professional motorcycle racing. As a result, his motorcycle would officially carry the #1 plate for the 1970 Grand National Championship season.
Lawwill lost that National #1 plate to Triumph’s Gene Romero a year later. The 1970 AMA GNC season was perhaps the most well-known in motorcycle racing history, thanks to On Any Sunday, the world-renowned documentary film by Bruce Brown.