Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1493698
was important work and once in a while even Roger DeCoster would show up to help." At the end of the testing, all the secret prototype bikes were locked away from inquiring eyes. But Turner's day wasn't done. In the 1970s, SoCal offered nighttime racing on weekdays, so Turner would head from Carlsbad to OCIR (Orange County International Raceway) on Tuesday, Ascot Park on Wednesday, back to OCIR on Thursday and then wrap up the week on Friday at Irwindale or Corona. The weekends would find him at Saddleback Park on Saturday and then back at Carls - bad on Sunday. "Suzuki provided me with bikes and parts for the local races. I usually had nine mo- torcycles, two of each size and they would be set up differently for the different tracks." By his own personal account of his career in Southern Cali- fornia motocross, Turner won a staggering 974 races through- out the '70s and '80s. He would often enter all three pro classes (125cc, 250cc and Open) on the same day. On 13 occasions, he was victorious in all three classes. He was making a good living as a local pro, some days winning more than $800 in prize money. But getting rich on the local scene wasn't Ron Turner's dream. He wanted to be a National Champion, which was something his employer didn't want. "Suzuki told me that if I wanted to ride the Nationals, I was going to do it on my own," Turner says. "I didn't receive any help from them. In fact, they often tried to pressure me, tell - ing me that I had to stay here in California." Undeterred, he headed for the road. While his results were good, with several top-three fin- ishes in the 125cc class, Turner never got the call for the factory ride. He competed on numerous brands in his career, including Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda and Cagiva, the latter of which he rode to a supercross victory at a non-AMA event in Honolulu. His professional racing days ended in the late '80s. "I don't know why I didn't get my chance at a factory ride," he says. "Maybe they didn't like my curly hair, or the fact that I usually just wore prescription sunglasses instead of goggles. Sometimes, it wasn't just all about results. Some guys had big personalities and that's how they got their sponsorships. That just wasn't who I was…still isn't." Would it have made a differ - ence in his results? What if a factory team had given him a chance? "I got to ride David Bailey's Team Honda bike one time," he says. "I was four seconds a lap quicker on that bike than on my production bikes. They were that much better than the stockers I had to ride. "I know," he adds, "I could've won a couple of national cham - pionships." Turner still lives in Southern California and works for a truck - ing company. CN CNIIARCHIVES P112 Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives "I don't know why I didn't get my chance at a factory ride," he says. "Maybe they didn't like my curly hair, or the fact that I usually just wore prescription sunglasses instead of goggles."