CN
III ARCHIVES
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
I
t's not as uncommon now, but in the early 1970s
factory contracts were usually reserved for
proven winners in the expert ranks, or at the very
least experts who showed the potential to win.
Michigan's Rex Beauchamp circumvented that
normal process though. He showed so much
potential as a Junior he became the first non-Ex-
pert rider to sign a contact with Harley-Davidson.
Beauchamp went on to win four nationals during
his short, seven-year professional racing career.
The personable rider from Michigan was a serious
contender for the AMA Grand National Champi-
onship in the mid-1970s, finishing ranked in the
top-10 nationally four straight years. Beauchamp's
highest career ranking in the championship was
fourth in 1974.
Beauchamp was born in Pontiac, Michigan, Au-
gust 20, 1950. It seemed fated that Beauchamp
would become a leading national racer from the
first time he threw a leg over a motorcycle. On his
14th birthday, he got an 80cc Yamaha as a gift.
Two days later, he raced at a scrambles for the
first time and won.
In August of 1968, Beauchamp turned 18 and
received his AMA Novice racing license. After rid-
ing two events, winning one and placing second
in the other, he laid off professional competition
until the following season.
"I wanted to make sure I had enough sea-
soning as a Novice before I got into the Junior
ranks," Beauchamp said in a 1974 interview. "At
the end of my second race I was just two points
shy of transferring, so I had to wait for the year."
Holding himself back proved to be a smart
move. In 1969, Beauchamp went on a tear in
the Novice ranks, winning all but one race he
entered. He followed that up by finishing as the
top Junior rider in 1970, winning four nationals
en route. His rapid success prompted interest by
Harley-Davidson and he was signed to the fac-
tory team for the 1971 season.
In 1971, his rookie expert season, Beauchamp
scored three top-10 national finishes, including
a runner-up result at the Santa Fe Short Track
National, held in the Chicago suburb of Hins-
dale, Illinois.
1972 saw steady improvement for Beau-
champ. That year he tallied seven top-10 results
and earned podium finishes on the Miles in
Atlanta and Homewood, Illinois.
After coming so close so many times in his
first two years of pro racing, Beauchamp's frus-
THE ROOKIE FACTORY RIDER
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