Merv grew up in Derby, England, moving to California in 1962. On a 500 Norton Manx, Merv started racing at Cotati and Vacaville. Merv’s experimental disc brake system was sold to John Cooper’s father, also from Derby. For 1965, John Cooper provided Manx Nortons for Merv to ride in the Junior and Senior TTs, with Merv earning a bronze replica in the Senior TT
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One of Merv’s most famous rides was “The Gadget,” a 250 based upon a 175cc Parilla that Orrin Hall developed into one of the greatest of the era, Norris Rancourt winning the 250 FIM GP at Daytona. Merv – “The people from Honda and various European 250 GP manufacturers were in the pits afterward, standing around with their mouths hanging open, shaking their heads in disbelief.” Wright raced the Gadget in 1967-68. By 1971, Wright was a mechanic for Ron Grant at Suzuki, soon after becoming Suzuki US Team Manager through 1975.
1976 brought Merv to Texaco Heron Suzuki to run their World Championship efforts. “I was asked to run the factory team in Europe. I suspect Barry (Sheene) had put in the good word for hiring me, thinking that he’d be able to get away with murder, which didn’t really always work out all the time. He’d come out for the Grand Prix with a plethora of stickers all over the bike from personal sponsors…. I’d be about 5 minutes behind him, pulling the stickers off.”
Sheene won his first 500cc World Championship that year, but it was a management nightmare. “There were 2 bikes, with the 54×54 square bore/stroke engines, the latest design and they were Barry’s bikes of course. John Newbold and John Williams… neither ever got the latest bikes.”
On the motocross side there was greater harmony. Roger DeCoster recalls – “The most wonderful thing about Merv is that he respected the riders. Merv would say, ‘If he wants a mashed potato sandwich strapped on his gas tank, and he thinks it is going to make him faster, just do it.”
The stress of running a fragmented team, challenging for many championships at once, had taken a toll. Merv – “They would be giving bikes and parts to Barry, Pat Hennen, and Steve Parrish, with entirely separate deals and equipment. The individuals would set up their own teams, them make their own way to the various venues, at which point ‘a coordinator’ (i.e.: me) would be expected to fly in to try and make a cohesive unit out of it all and put on an appearance of friendliness and congeniality. It’s been a wonderful experience, but No Thank You.”
Merv returned to California, passing away April 20th at age 76.
Update: Merv’s ceremony Monday May 4th at Westwood hills memorial at 1:15 http://www.westwoodhillsmemorialpark.com/ Reception following at 2:00 at Durangos http://durangosrestaurant.com/location.html