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/1541234
M otorcycle racing has had its share of brash person- alities. But long before Haiden Deegan and Bob Hannah were making it clear that they didn't give a rodent's heinie about the opinions of others, one of the most talented dirt tracker/road racers of the 1970s was letting everyone know that he, too, was going his own way—and you best not be standing there when he did. "I guess I am cocky in certain respects," said David Aldana. "That's the way I'm going to be… if they don't like me for it, screw 'em." In 1970, this confident racer nearly put together a national championship season until an untimely crash kept him from the number one plate. One of his big - gest wins that season took place at the inaugural Talladega 200 motorcycle road race. Hailing from Santa Ana, Califor- nia, David Aldana didn't even own a motorcycle until he was nearly 15 years old, when his father bought him a Suzuki 80. Before long, he was racing flat track at the famous Ascot Park. Success came quickly, and he was soon getting sponsorship from the Spanish factory Ossa to also race motocross and scrambles. Former dirt track pro Dallas Baker had taken notice of the fast kid at Ascot and began sponsoring him on a BSA 250 dirt track bike. When an oppor - tunity opened to ride a BSA 650, Aldana moved up fast and rode even faster, winning "the first time I'd ever jumped on a big bike in my life." That led to a factory-sponsored ride with the company, meaning that just five years after learning how to ride on his own Suzuki 80, Aldana, now 20, was a profes - sional racer, with a real contract and soon to be winning races at the highest level in the sport. Cycle News described the Talladega track as "fast and demanding," and both adjectives were spot on. Fast indeed, as Triumph's Gene Romero "took time trial honors with a speed of 156 mph-plus. The track was fast enough to set the average speed for the entire Expert field at bet - ter than 141 mph!" Demanding? Check. It appears that nearly half of the bikes that started on the grid would fail to finish. This certainly was a field that earned the name "experts." CNIIARCHIVES P136 BY KENT TAYLOR & DAVE ALDANA WENT FROM A MOTORCYCLE RIDING NEWBIE TO A NATIONAL ROAD RACE WINNER IN JUST FIVE YEARS. ALDANA TALLADEGA His confidence —okay, cockiness —helped turn Dave Aldana into one of the top all-around motorcycle racers of the 1970s.