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r.gured that anyone who rode a Harley
was bad." That feeling lasted' about
three months and at the beginning of
'63 Mert, the BSA lover, was firmly on a
Harley. In '64, Mert picked up partial
factory support becoming a full factory
entry in '65.
The turning point in Mert's career
was Daytona 1971, when a rear tire
blew on the back banking near the Pepsi
tum dumping Mert at 140' mph,
breaking a bone in his left wrist and
adding a compound fracture to his
elbow. Itching for action, Mert en tered
LouisviUe, and vibrations from riding
before the injuries were sufficien t1y
healed, reinjured the wrist.
At the Castle Rock IT, later in the
season, Mert was involved in a spill that
almost put an end to his career. One
bike went down in front too close 0
avoid, and Men went over the
handlebar twisting his hand and wrist
before the bike ianded on it, causing
nearly forty fractures and rendering it
useless.
Steve ~cQut"'en, the silent ?artner in
making HO n .\ny Sunday" poinied Mert
in the direction of the surgeon lor the
LA Rams and from there it was fivc
operations and numerous medical magic
tricks that put the hand and wrist ack
to usefulness Once again.
With the' eginning of th~ '72 seaMn,
\olert was reach' 1.0 egin hi'\ comeback,
but the production 0: the ne", bike ''''as
,)ehind schcd e and 1 ler \IT ~'orcc to
.vait for a new machine or run th~ old
ro KR
.
":My win a:: t e ewsies jn Columbus
was a doublt:: victory for me.. It W'a.'~ a
chance to snow eople that
wasn't
over the hill :;ke everyone though t and
it vas a mechanical one .Jso. I came
with the bike setup that proved 0 be
wrong but, hy modifying it after each
time on the track, I had a winner by the
final. "
The 1965 Sacramento Mile was
1ert"s first 1 'atienal victory. "When
you're a racer coming up that's the big
thing...just to win a ationaL.. that's all
vou think about week after week."
Mert was unprepared for the road
racing end of Team Harley, having spent
most of his early years on the tacky
surface at Ascot. "Pm a.. dirt man and
didn't feel secure road racing. But this
year (1972), I'm doing a bert~r job than
1 ever have."
Fot ten years I've said I'll race just
another year or two, but with the new
XR and everything going so well, I
really feel-gooci '! .
, •.•.
p )')~ ~'j. "t.1""
