David Aldana (born November 26, 1949) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

former professional

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

racer who specialized in dirt track oval racing and

road racing Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a race track, closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily c ...

. In the 1970s, he was one of the more colorful racers in the

A.M.A. Grand National Championship American Flat Track is an American motorcycle racing series. The racing series, founded and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1954, originally encompassed five distinct forms of competitions including mile dirt track r ...

with his wild riding style and extravagant designs on his riding attire. Aldana competed in nearly every form of motorcycle racing, including competing in the

1970 Trans-AMA motocross series The 1970 Trans-AMA motocross series was an international series established by the American Motorcyclist Association as a pilot event to help establish motocross in the United States. The motocross series was an invitational based on a combined 2 ...

and

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

racing. Born in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

, Aldana became a rookie expert on the AMA Grand National circuit in 1970 riding for BSA. Aldana made a serious challenge for the championship. A crash at the Sacramento Mile with just three races to go dashed his hopes for the title, but along the way he won three nationals and finished third in the series. He won over many fans with his all-or-nothing style. He also gained notoriety from wearing a set of racing leathers he designed that featured an almost entirely black leather suit with a contrasting human skeleton on the front. AMA race officials threatened to ban him at one point if he persisted in wearing the suit. By the late 1970s, Aldana began concentrating on road racing. In 1975, he was the top individual scorer at the

Transatlantic Trophy The Transatlantic Trophy (initially called Anglo-American Match Races) was an annual series of motorcycle races between the United Kingdom and America held from 1971 to 1988 and again in 1991. They were mostly held over the Easter weekend at Br ...

match races, and led the American team to their first victory in the series over the British team. He became a factory rider for

Suzuki is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...

, and later joined Kawasaki's

AMA Superbike AMA Superbike Championship is an American motorcycle racing series based in the United States. The series is organized by MotoAmerica and is sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) as well as the Fédération Internationale de ...

team in 1980 with a young

Eddie Lawson Eddie Ray Lawson (born March 11, 1958) is an American former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from to . A four-time FIM 500cc road racing world champion, Lawson is prominent f ...

as his teammate. He went on to be a

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

factory rider in the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

Endurance World Championship where he raced in prestigious races such as the Bol d'Or. Aldana teamed with Mike Baldwin to win the prestigious

Suzuka 8 Hours The is a motorcycle endurance race held at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan each year. The race runs for eight hours consecutively, and entrants are composed of two or more riders who alternate during pitstops. History The race began in 1978 as a ...

endurance race in 1981. Aldana won 4 AMA Nationals during his career, as well as several important international races. In 1999, he was inducted into the AMA

Motorcycle Hall of Fame The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction, or motorcycling in general. It also displays motorcycles, ...

. He is of Mexican American descent.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldana, David 1949 births Living people Sportspeople from Santa Ana, California American motorcycle racers AMA Grand National Championship riders American sportspeople of Mexican descent AMA Superbike Championship riders