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CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE T he 1969 AMA National Championship season was one of the most interesting in the long his- tory of the championship. Rule changes saw the British brands, now on par in displacement versus Harley-Davidson, the foreign brands went from winning just five nationals in 1968, to 13 nationals in '69. Yet, in spite of the parity between makers, it was still Harley-Davidson factory rider Mert Law- will breaking through to win the championship. Motocross was coming but had yet to earn national championship status, so the AMA Grand National Champion was still the only major American national championship and garnered the lion's share of the coverage, fan attention and backing by the manufacturers. That year the Grand Nationals also witnessed a total of six different riders leading the series, with swapping atop the point standings nearly every week- end until the final few rounds. The Japanese teams were beginning to really come into play at the road races—Yamaha and Suzuki fielding strong factory and independent teams. The title victory for Lawwill also had to be consid- ered a surprise. Pre-season prognosticators had the '69 series coming down to Triumph's Gary Nixon (the defending champ) and Bart Markel, Fred Nix or perhaps Cal Rayborn from Harley-Davidson. But it was Lawwill who ultimately proved to be in many ways, the second-coming of Dick Mann. Not flashy, but an all- around talent who was a contender on any of the five types of races (miles, half-miles, TTs, short tracks and road races) that were part of the AMA Grand National Championship. In what was called at the time, the most important rules change in AMA history, in November of 1968 the AMA's Competition Committee voted to allow overhead valve machines (previously restricted to 500cc) to be allowed the same 750cc displacement of the side valve bikes (Harley KRs). The 500cc restriction (which lumped in two-strokes) remained on road racing ma- chines for one more year, but the rule change for flat tracks was met with celebration by most racing fans as well as British makers, who always felt AMA competi- tion rules were controlled by Harley-Davidson. The series opened early, on February 7, with the Houston Short Track National in the Astrodome. Ronnie Rall's main Bultaco (a rigid frame) broke a crank in practice, so his team hurriedly readied his backup bike, a Sherpa S with full suspension. Rall started midpack, but the track became progressively bumpier and his full suspension machine proved the hot setup, while most other riders were bouncing around on rigid frames. The victory marked the first of six AMA Nationals Bultaco would win. It was also the first national win by a two-stroke. Race promoters Pace brilliantly realized they could expand their Astrodome event into a two-night affair by adding a TT race. Being the first indoor national TT, fans were excited and 26,000 showed up to watch Skip Van Leeuwen race his 650cc twin-cylin- der Triumph to victory over the little Harley-Davidson 350cc Sprint ridden by rookie Mark Brelsford. Rall held the championship lead for one day before Van Leeuwen took it over after his TT win. The next round was Daytona, delayed a week by rain. The two-stroke Japanese bikes dominated qualifying, but in the race most of the fast two-strokes broke and Harley-Davidson's Cal Rayborn won the THE SUMMER OF '69 P124 Mert Lawwill en-route to the AMA National Championship in 1969.