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VOL. 55 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 21, 2018 P125 second and Wilvert came home third after a steady race. While that was inarguably his best-known result, lesser known was the fact that Wilvert did a good bit of international racing as well. In 1975 he was invited to race in the FIM Formula 750 class at As- sen, Holland. At the time Formula 750 was an unofficial world cham- pionship series derived from the American 750cc racing formula. The class was granted full world- championship status in 1977. At Assen, Wilvert, little known out- side the U.S., stunned the Dutch crowd by leading nearly the entire second leg until being passed on the final corner by Jack Findlay. Wilvert passed away Monday, August 13, after colliding with a car while riding his motorcycle on the street. He was 74. Wilvert was an avid touring rider these days, hav- ing retired from club and vintage racing a few years back, he would sometimes even ride cross-coun- try from his home in New Mexico to visit relatives back East. Besides his considerable racing exploits, Wilvert also was part of a team of eight riders in 1973 to set a new 24-hour motorcycle speed record on a Kawasaki Z1 at Dayto- na. The leading Z1 went 2630.402 miles at 109.602 mph, beating the previous 24-hour record by nearly 20 mph. In all, the three-day effort claimed 46 AMA and FIM perfor- mance records. Wilvert was also key in helping move the AMA along in recogniz- ing Superbike as a national class. Steve McLaughlin and John Ulrich had written up a proposal for the potential new class, but they needed a rider who was well liked to represent the proposal and according to McLaughlin, Wilvert was the perfect candidate. Not long after Wilvert presented the proposal AMA Superbike became a national series. McLaughlin adds that Wilvert was also instru- mental in helping formulate rules to include four-strokes in the old AMA Formula One National class. After his pro career was over, Wilvert took it upon himself to help other riders get into the sport of road racing. Former pro racer Malcolm Hill talks about his first meeting with Wilvert. "I was 17 years old with a Ya- maha R5 used for transportation— a step up from my 90cc enduro. Through moto mags, I began following road racing. I became a fan. I had a poster of Paul Smart hanging off a Kawasaki 750 in my bedroom. I had recently read a story on Daytona where Hurley finished third and included color pic of the green 39. So, I'm riding home in my Westminster neigh- borhood when by chance I look down a long driveway to a back- yard garage and there is the green 39 faced to the street. I could not believe it! I built the courage to trespass to the garage and introduced myself to Hurley and his then mechanic George V. who were both welcoming. "Following small talk, Hurley mentioned that my ride made for a good production race bike and suggested I race it at an upcom- ing race at OCIR. He offered to guide me to prepare the bike for the race track and to port the cylinders—I had no clue what that meant at the time. He also found me a set of tattered ABC leathers to borrow through a friend of his. It all came together with Hurley's encouragement and help. That OCIR club event was my first race. Weeks later I was back at the garage and Paul Smart was visiting Hurley. I didn't share with Mr. Smart that I had a poster of him hanging in my room." Even with all of his accomplish- ments, Wilvert was humble and was even surprised if anyone remembered him according to former Cycle magazine associate editor Mark Homchick. "At dinner one night on his trip through California visiting friends in June, Hurley was relating to us a few stories of his semi-recent trips to the Isle of Man and other classic events in the UK. He was absolutely amazed that people he did not know, from another country across the Atlantic, would come up to him to talk, and ask for an autograph. He couldn't believe that anyone knew who he was, or would know his name. He was truly gratified, and in his typically understated way, he said, 'I guess I had an impact on some people. I couldn't believe it.'" CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives