Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Sears Point Changes Met With Mixed Reviews

By Michael Hannas

Motorcycles took to the revised Infineon Raceway (formerly Sears Point Raceway) for the first time Saturday, February 22, during a 3J’s Motorcycle Day. The revised Turn one, Turn 8a-9a section, and Turn 11 were all utilized for the first time. Those in attendance had mixed reactions to the changes.

The new Turn One layout is similar to the old AMA Turn One, circa 1996, which utilized orange cones in the middle of the dragstrip as the apex of a 90-degree left. The pavement at the end of the front straight has been extended 50 feet with cones similiar to the old AMA cones delineating the apex. The new turn is even tighter and slower than the old AMA Turn One and according to Infineon Raceway Vice President of Facilities Jere Starks, was designed to point the rider towards the middle of the straightaway underneath the Turn One bridge, away from the hillside.

The new Turn 8a-9a section, which was quickly being referred to as “The Bus Stop,” carries riders straight over the Turn 8a hillside parallel to the terraced grandstands, instead of bending to the right and into Turn Nine.

This means the rider does not have to let off the gas for Turn 8a as in the past, making for some nice wheelies in front of the grandstands for the fans. At the end of the short straight is a tight, second-gear, 90-degree right followed directly by an even tighter left that connects back onto the old track in between old Turn Nine and Turn 10. Now, the rider is accelerating through Turn 10, instead of letting off into the corner. The rider now accelerates through Turn 10 all the way until hitting the brakes for the new Turn 11, which turns directly behind the drag race tower, 40 feet closer than before.

The new Turn 11 is tighter than before and points the rider directly down the front straightaway, instead of towards the wall as in the past. Being 40 feet shorter than before, it causes the rider to brake almost as he or she is still leaned over to the right for Turn 10, at around the same point as in the past since the speed in Turn 10 is slower now.

Comments from the various local suspects who showed up were mixed. Most concerns centered around the new 8a-9a section, which creates a situation where a rider who either crashes or loses the brakes into the Turn 9 right-hander could cross into the path of a rider exiting the left-handed Turn 9a. Some felt this could create a bigger problem then the old Turn Nine or Turn 10 did. The old sections were fast and lined with walls, but didn’t cause very many accidents. The new chicane, it appears, could create more situations, albeit at a much slower speed. The transition from the old track onto the new section at Turn 8a is also bumpy, causing headshake and a wheelie.

Factory Kawasaki Supersport rider Tony Meiring said, “It needs a lot of work. I think it’s more dangerous for sure. If you crash going into that Bus Stop, if you tuck the front, your bike will slide into the guys on the other side. Turn One is fun but it is pretty tight. The first lap will be pretty hairy. The new Turn 11 is really tight, too. I don’t know, I liked the old track.”

2002 AMA Superbike Top Privateer Brian Parriott, out testing his new BMW Boxer Cup Replika on the new track in preparation for Daytona, also yearned for the good ol’ days. “I think it’s a bit safer, but not as fun. It’s gonna be a hard place to pass (the Bus Stop), there’s only one line through that chicane. The Turn 8a transistion is so bumpy even my Beemer wheelies. As for Turn 11, they should put it where it was before, last year. Or even split the difference between that and the old, old one. The way it is, it is hard to pass. Turn One, I think they should go back to wide-open, there’s plenty of space now. All these crybabies, ‘Waa, waaa, the hillside, the walls.’ They should put it back how it was, back in ’94. There used to be a fence you could hang your bike on in Turn Five.”

2002 AFM Overall #1 and Open Superbike Champion Dave Stanton seemed to like the changes more than others. “I like it. I think they’re moving in the right direction. It’s safer, and funner, more of a rider’s track. I think they’re working hard trying to improve the safety. Before I never really thought about safety. Now everyone is starting from scratch. It’s gonna be good, but bad for me- I’ll be giving up my local advantage. It’s gonna be great!”

2002 AFM #2 Ken Hill was concerned about the safety aspects of the new layout. “I think it’s fun and more of a rider’s challenge, but from a safety aspect there are still areas of concern. It tightens things up a lot. I think someone crashing into Turn Nine could take someone else out.”

The fastest AFM regulars were turning lap times in the 1:44 range by the end of the day. For comparison, Stanton turned 1:35s during the 2002 AMA Formula Extreme race en route to a top-10 finish. With the tighter layout, 600cc Supersport machines seemed to be able to lap at times very close to 1000cc Superbike-spec machines.

AFM officials on the scene displayed concern about the safety aspects of the new Turn 8a-9a section. The potential for bikes crashing and hitting other bikes was the concern, with the general feeling being that the old Turn Nine section didn’t present such a problem in the past. Officials later announced that the AFM would use the new Turn One, but use the old Turn Nine and Turn 11.

Infineon’s Starks noted the concern of the riders about the new section. According to Starks, the track is has plans to remedy the problem before the AMA Superbike Doubleheader, most likely in the form of a gravel trap that would attempt to stop crashed bikes before they could re-enter the track.