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CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE W hen AMA Executive Director Bill Berry called the annual Competition Con- gress meetings to order in Co- lumbus, Ohio, in late October 1968, little did the delegates know at the time, but the rule changes implemented in those meetings would set in motion a series of events that would ultimately result in the forma- tion of a new road racing world championship call Formula 750. Formula 750 lasted just seven years and was only a world championship for three of those, but the class did feature American rounds. A couple of Americans, Steve Baker and Kenny Roberts, were two of the winningest riders in series history. And the series also produced America's first road rac- ing world champion. What Competition Congress did in '68 marked a major mile- stone in the rules. The AMA finally eliminated the 250cc penalty assessed overhead-valve engines that had existed since the found- ing of Class C racing in the early 1930s. The British (and burgeon- ing Japanese) makers could now run the same 750cc displace- ment that side-valve Harley KRs were able to run. The British and Japanese makers were beginning to have more influence within the AMA, P100 THE SHORT-LIVED, BUT INFLUENTIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP mula 750 came at the Cannes Congress of the FIM in October 1970, when the AMA was ac- cepted as a member. The Brit- ish manufacturers were already taking part in racing in the United States under rules which were completely different from those in force in Europe, and they quickly understood the possibilities of the AMA now being under the FIM umbrella. The FIM asked the Auto Cycle Union (ACU) to try to find a for- mula, which could provide a basis for a set of racing regulations that could be applied on both sides of the Atlantic. The Brits liked to call it "Daytona-type racing." Early in 1971, representatives of the ACU and the AMA met in Cincinnati during a motorcycle and 1968 was the first year for the Competition Congress. The diverse Congress replaced the old AMA Competition Commit- tee, which had a combination of elected and appointed members. Congress delegates were se- lected from within each district by rank and file AMA members, giving a broader influence to competition rule making and also ensured all phases of the sport had a voice in the decision making. The upshot was that overhead-valve ma- chines were no longer restricted to 500cc displacement, and that meant machines like the new BSA and Triumph Triples would be eli- gible to race as would the Norton Commando. The other significant develop- ment that helped produce For- The start of the '75 Daytona 200, which doubled as a round of the FIM Formula 750 Championship, with Finnish GP star Teuvo Länsivuori (8) getting the jump on the field. Gene Romero (3) and Kenny Roberts (1) also got good starts. PHOTO: HENNY RAY ABRAMS