Aldana, David
Name/Title
Aldana, DavidTags
Road Racing, Dirt TrackDescription
- Winner of four AMA Grand National events, including three during his rookie expert season (1970) - Top individual scorer at the 1975 Transatlantic Trophy match races, helping the American team secure its first-ever victory over the British team - Winner of the 1981 Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race (alongside teammate Mike Baldwin), then considered one of the most important motorcycle races in the world One of the more colorful personalities in the history of American motorcycle racing, David Aldana was a top AMA Grand National Series competitor during the early 1970s and a top international road racer in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. After stints as both a Suzuki and Kawasaki factory road racer in the AMA Superbike Championship, Aldana joined the factory Honda team in the demanding FIM World Championship Endurance Series. One of the most versatile racers in the history of the sport, Aldana competed in nearly every form of motorcycle racing, including flat track, road racing, motocross and speedway. David Aldana was born in Santa Ana, Calif., on Nov. 26, 1949. Aldana’s father was a motorcyclist, and his uncle was a tuner for AMA national racer (and fellow AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame member) Skip Van Leeuwen. Aldana spectated at many Southern California scrambles races as a child, and when he was 14, Aldana’s father had bought him his first motorcycle, an 80cc Suzuki. “It didn’t take long for me to strip the bike down to nothing,” Aldana recalls. “I was riding it everywhere. On the weekends, I would go dirt riding in the hills and during the week I would ride it to high school every day. I got in trouble with the local police all the time.” At 16, Aldana bought a 90cc Honda and began racing all over Southern California. It didn’t take long for the youngster to move up through the regional ranks. He started working at motorcycle shops and, by the time he was 19, he earned a factory-supported ride from BSA in dirt track and a factory ride with Ossa in scrambles/motocross. By the late 1960s, Aldana was a star at the Ascot TT races, and motorcycle racing had become a way of life. In 1970, Aldana became a rookie expert on the AMA Grand National circuit, riding for BSA. It was one of the most memorable rookie seasons in the history of the series, with Aldana making a serious run for the championship. A crash at the Sacramento Mile with just three races to go dashed any hopes for the title, but along the way he won three nationals, finished third in the series and won the hearts of America’s racing fans with his win-at-any-cost ethos. The classic motorcycling documentary On Any Sunday features snippets from Aldana’s rookie season and does a great job of capturing both his brash and carefree attitude. Aldana earned quite a reputation in his early years for his wild-and-crazy riding style. Competitors nicknamed him “Rubber Ball,” since he always seemed to bounce back up, even after a heavy crash. “If you don’t fall off now and then,” he said in a period magazine interview, “you don’t really know how fast you can go.” He also earned another long-lasting nickname — “Bones” — due to his signature black racing leathers finished with a white human skeleton motif sewn onto both the front and back! It was during his time racing for BSA that Aldana got his first taste of international road racing, starting in 1971 when he was invited to join Dick Mann, Gary Nixon and others as part of the American team that competed in the Transatlantic Trophy match races between the best American and British motorcycle racers. A few years later, in 1975, Aldana returned to the Transatlantic match races as part of an all-star nine-man team that also included Kenny Roberts, Don Castro, Gene Romero, Steve Baker, Pat Hennen and more. That year, Aldana was the top individual points scorer, playing an integral role in winning the American team’s first-ever Transatlantic Trophy. Aldana also won the 1975 AMA Superbike Production race at Daytona, riding for the Suzuki factory road racing team. In 1980, Aldana was hired by Kawasaki to race alongside Eddie Lawson in the AMA Superbike Championship. Aldana’s experience setting up bikes proved invaluable for the Kawasaki team: “I remember when the team was trying to set up Eddie’s bike, he’d come in the pits after a practice session and say to the mechanics, ‘Set mine up just like Aldana’s.’” Aldana finished on the podium at half of the Superbike races that year and ended the year fourth in the series behind Wes Cooley, Lawson and Freddie Spencer. Honda recognized Aldana’s talent on Superbikes and hired him the next year to race in the World Championship Endurance Series, competing in prestigious events like the Le Mans and Bol d’Or 24-hour races and the Suzuka 8 Hour — at that time arguably the single most important motorcycle race in the world — which Aldana won with teammate with Mike Baldwin in 1981. “I’ll never forget the finish of that race,” Aldana said. “My fellow competitors picked me up on their shoulders and carried me around in front of a couple hundred thousand cheering fans. It was truly a highlight of my racing career.” Aldana continued on the world endurance circuit for the next two seasons, now riding for the French Elf team on its unique racing prototypes that featured single-sided swingarms on both the front and rear. This unusual set up allowed the team to change tires and completely refuel the bike in less than five seconds. Unfortunately, the chassis, while ahead of its time, was not completely worked out and the team struggled with handling problems throughout Aldana’s tenure. When not racing in Europe and Asia, Aldana raced in select races in America. He finished third in the AMA Superbike race at Daytona in 1983, riding a Honda. Two years later, in 1985, Aldana teamed up with fellow AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer John Kocinski to win the WERA National Endurance Championship, riding the new Suzuki GSX-R750. Aldana retired from full-time racing after the 1985 season, but he stayed involved in the sport by instructing at the Team Suzuki Riding School and riding in select showcase events designed to honor racing legends. Since his induction into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999, David Aldana has remained actively involved in the motorcycle racing community, primarily by competing in American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) vintage races aboard his fleet of air-cooled Honda race bikes, participating in both flat track and motocross events. Aldana was named the Grand Marshal for the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days in 2015 and then again in 2021, and he was awarded the same honor at the 2022 AMA Flat Track Grand Championship, too. His frequent appearances at road racing and flat track events cemented his status as one of the sport’s most popular and appealing ambassadors.Category
Class of 1999