David Aldana on the Cycle Tech Suzuki GSXR750 at Indianapolis Raceway Park in April of 1985. (Larry Lawrence photo)

Was this ever cool for a motorcycle racing fan… watching David Aldana racing the – not yet available in the U.S. – Suzuki GSXR750 at Indianapolis Raceway Park in a WERA National Endurance race. This had to be one of the first appearances of the GSXR on a racetrack in America and people at the track were glued to the fences watching Aldana and teammate Wes Cooley. Uber-cool!

Cooley got hurt not long afterwards at an AMA National at Sears Point and was replaced by a 16-year-old kid named John Kocinski. Primary Cycle Tech riders Kocinski, Aldana and Joey Osowski went on to win the WERA National Endurance Championship that year.