Sears Point International Raceway

Sears Point International Raceway
Highways 37 & 121
Sonoma, CA 95476
(800) 870-7223 (voice)
www.searspoint.com
trackinfo@searspoint.com

Comments:

Located about one hour north of San Francisco, Sears Point shares its same weird weather. It can be sunny and warm one day, cold and cloudy the next. The paddock area is long and narrow, so come early if you need a large pit setup. The gates are open 24 hours for AMA events, motorhome camping is allowed in the paddock. No electricity is available along the hot pit wall, so bring a generator if you plan to set up a staging area.

Racing notes:

Grab a track map off of Sears' home page and come along with Bob for a lap:

Enter T1 and run a wide, fast arc, apexing late on the little left kink before T2. Down shift one gear as you transition to the right, push for a late apex for T2.

Run it to the outside coming over T2. Watch the traction, as the track is off-camber as you rise up over the turn and the front gets a little light. Get hard on the gas coming out of T2. The bike wiggles like crazy, but that's how it goes at Sears. Grab a gear and head for the left / right of T3. Let off the gas a bit to settle the front as you make the transition. Apex a bit late in T3 to get a straight drive down the hill to T4. The front end gets real light here - just keep it under control.

Brake as late as you can for T4, down shift one gear and trail the brakes as you enter the turn. Feed the gas back in smoothly, but as quickly as you can. Run to the inside of T5, grab another gear, run up the hill towards the left, and be ready for the bike to get light as you crest the hill and flick it over at the top of the Carousel (T6). Stay to the inside of the downhill run, weight up over the tank, use the inside footpeg to hold yourself up and forward and let the front end do its own thing.

Start your drive out of T6 for the back straight to T7. Feed as much gas as you can, tuck in, grab a couple of gears, and run up close to the wall on the left side of the track. Get on the brakes hard at the #3 brake marker, down shift three times, trail brake into T7. Back on the gas as you roll through, catch a gear and head for the left / right wiggle before T8. Straighten out the wiggle as best as you can, even running over the curbing, and set up for the first part of T8. Don't over-cook the first part of T8 because you need a good exit out of here to nail your drive down the back section of the track - that's the quickest part of Sears.

Drive down the hill into T9, grabbing a gear or two along the way. Set up to make T9 a wide, sweeping turn. Stay off the inside of the turn - it's bumpy and will upset the bike. Aim for the tires surrounding the bridge support on the left side of the track. Hang on past the tires just a blink to set up for a late apex to T10. If you do it right, you can power all the way through T10, way to the outside by the grass,f and head down to T11.

Brake as late as you dare for T11, keeping in mind that you want to get back on the gas before you turn in. Drop down to second or first gear. Push to the wall on your exit. Grab a gear about halfway to the AMA chicane, keep your drive going through there, across the drag strip, and up against the wall of the short front straight.

Drop a gear as T1 gets near, watch crossing back over the drag strip, and start another lap.

Crossing the drag strip is the spookiest part of Sears. As you drive from the AMA chicane, the bike will probably buck and weave from the slip-and-grip of all the dragster garbage on the track. As you cross start / finish and set up to turn into T1, watch your traction. The AMA makes the turn-in almost 90 degrees. Too much gas here will have you sliding up the hill.

Bob