Mert Lawwill, the 1969 AMA Grand National champion and a central figure in Bruce Brown’s classic motorcycle documentary On Any Sunday, passed away last week at the age of 85.
Lawwill had already established himself as a top racer on dirt tracks across America when filmmaker Bruce Brown invited him to feature in what would become a landmark motorcycle film. Alongside Steve McQueen and fellow racing legend Malcolm Smith, Lawwill helped shift public perception of motorcyclists from the rebellious outlaws of The Wild One to the dedicated, skilled athletes like himself.
Born to a housepainter and a schoolteacher, Lawwill was one of seven children. As a restless youth, he found his passion when his brother Roy put him on the back of a motorcycle. Despite his parents’ fears that all riders were Hell’s Angels, Lawwill began racing at the local TT track in Boise before expanding to the Northwest region, including cross-country hare scrambles events.
His talent caught the eye of renowned Harley-Davidson dealer Dudley Perkins, leading Lawwill to move to California and begin his professional racing career in 1963. He signed a factory contract with Harley in 1964 and remained with the manufacturer for the rest of his racing years.
Steve McQueen, Mert Lawwill, and Malcolm Smith in the iconic film On Any Sunday.
Bruce Brown Films
Lawwill earned his first AMA Grand National victory at the Sacramento Mile in 1965, following a string
