The Point by Paul Carruthers

Excerpt From: Cycle News, May 24, 2000, p. 95

Before anyone readies to write me letters complaining that I'm bashing Sears Point, let me go on record as saying that is not my intent. I think the new owners of Sears Point have spent a considerable amount of money to try and make things right at their facility. The improvements in turns five and 11 are great. And I listened intently to a track official's explanation of their plans to make Sears even safer in the years ahead. Right now, however, it remains a daunting place to race a motorcycle - even in the dry.

While I've never circulated Sears Point on a motorcycle, I was given the opportunity to do so in a Chevy Suburban on the weekend of the rained-out race. It's scary. Plain and simple. There are still places on the circuit where a crash could have disastrous results. Although a stroll around the track in a car is painless, it doesn't take a lot of imagination to see why the riders wouldn't even consider racing around the place in the rain.

For one, the track uses a portion of the drag strip, and the driver was able to spin up the rear tires without even jumping on the throttle very hard. Riding a motorcycle around there with any lean angle whatsoever would be impossible. Secondly, the lack of run-off areas in those questionable sections also makes racing in the rain a ridiculous idea.

If you crash at Phillip Island, you slide into a gravel trap - several hundred feet from the nearest immovable object. Crash in certain spots at Sears and you almost immediately slide into an immovable object - and there’s also a good chance that you and your motorcycle can then bounce right back into traffic. Racing in the rain at Phillip Island is safer than racing in the dry at Sears Point.

And there are also reasons for the fact that Phillip Island is safer for motorcycle racing than Sears Point. Phillip Island was designed for racing motorcycles. They draw huge crowds for both the World Superbike Series and the Grand Prix.

Sears Point draws huge crowds as well - for its annual NASCAR event. NASCAR drivers don’t necessarily want to run off into gravel traps. It’s not good for the sponsorship stickers. They’d much rather glance off a guardrail and continue onward.