Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

In a press conference following Friday’s timed Superbike qualifying session at Sears Point, the top three riders–provisional pole-sitter Anthony Gobert and Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Aaron Yates and Mat Mladin–strongly criticized the racetrack. All three riders were under last year’s lap record, set by Mladin.

“I knew the old track pretty well,” said Yates. “The way it is now it’s like it’s all new, it’s totally different. The first time out this morning it was pretty strange. I was pretty upset about the way the turn one thing is. That was bothering me a lot this morning. Then this afternoon I had to decide that that’s the way it’s going to be, I’ve got to go out there and ride and quit thinking about it. It’s a shame that the track’s as dangerous as it is; it’s worse now than it used to be before. You go out there and do your job and it really sucks. Turn one is just way too fast going in there and there’s nowhere to go if you run off the track. There’s concrete walls on the inside and the outside. When I was first looking at it yesterday there weren’t people on the track and I noticed it was so fast through there it was like you’re going to be braking past the bridge where you hit the hill and start going up to the turn (two). That’s where you’re going to be wanting to get on the brakes a little bit and you’re going to be G-ing out that thing and the front’s going to be bottoming out and there’s absolutely nowhere to go out there when you fall. There’s big holes and stuff dug in it. I went and told (AMA Race Manager) Ron Barrick, with all the tractors and stuff they got here, they ought to be able to go out there and fix the outside, at least right there. Fix the outside of the track a little bit so if we fall we can slide a little ways before we bounce off something or fall in a big old hole up there. You’re going so much faster there than you were before, at least about 30-40 mph faster now.”

“I definitely echo Aaron’s words with the problems we have here with the racetrack,” said Mladin. “I honestly feel unsafe out there. It’s hard for me to concentrate with looking at what’s going on out there. I honestly believe that somebody needs to really think about whether we should be here or not, with the state of the racetrack. They’ve got some new pavement, you go faster. Through turn nine, I’m on the rev limiter in fourth gear, wide open, and, I mean, there isn’t three feet of run-off. And there’s no air bags, and there’s no nothing, even though air bags are not the fix. I’m probably going to get bent over and reamed again for saying something, but I’m lost for words. When I went out there this morning, I thought of getting in my motorhome and going home. Obviously, the prize money doesn’t help when you can’t get enough money to buy your blokes drinks after you win.”

“I don’t think we should be racing here, really, this weekend,” said Gobert. “I think that we should all be getting together and really just packing up and driving home. Someone spoke to me and said, ‘Oh, you can’t believe the changes they’ve made here and how much better it’s going to be.’ When I arrived here I realized, yeah, that’s the case if you’re a spectator, but not if you’re actually out there riding. It’s a bit of a shame that we have to be put through this to try and win a championship at the end of the year. Today, when I put a qualifier on, I was looking around thinking that I really, really don’t want to put my head down and go for it. And I had no choice but to do it. It’s pretty awkward being put in that position. I don’t think anything’s really going to get done. I don’t think anything really gets done unless someone gets hurt. It normally takes three years in a row like Loudon. Hopefully I don’t get myself in trouble by saying what I feel. Seems like you get in trouble for that. Hopefully we have a good weekend, hopefully we stay safe.”

Immediately after the press conference, John Cardinale, Sears Point’s director of media relations and community affairs, called Steve Page, president and general manager of Sears Point, and AMA Race Manager Ron Barrick, to the media center for a follow-up conference.

Page, who looked ashen, said that he had just heard the gist of the riders’ comments, and found it hard to respond. Page said the track had spent over $55 million making improvements to the track, and had spent a lot of money getting the entitlements to do the changes, particularly in turn one. As Page pointed out, the problem in turn one is the waste holding tanks and the bridge between turns one and two. The slope on the outside of turn one is necessary to hold the waste holding ponds in place. Page said that a new waste disposal plant is in place, and they are just waiting for the permits to put it on line. Until that is done, the track cannot abandon the ponds on the outside of the turn. As far as the basic configuration of the track, Page said, “What you can do is what you can do. There’s always going to be physical limitations,” and pointed to the fact that, until the California Highway Department moves Highway 121 on the outside of turn 10, it will be impossible to include more runoff room. Page pointed out the additional run-off room in the Esses, and when asked about the front straight, said the configuration was up to the AMA.

Barrick said the narrow front straight and the entrance to turn one was to keep from going over the slick staging area of the dragstrip, and said that additional changes couldn’t be made until the hill on the outside of turn one was changed.

Page said that in the future, run-off in turn one would be increased substantially, a new bridge without abutments would be put in between turns one and two, that there would be additional run-off room in turn six (an area the riders didn’t mention), and that the entire track would be resurfaced in September. Also, the water seepage problem in turn one will be gone when the holding tanks are gone.

Barrick added that, turn by turn, there isn’t one place on the track that hasn’t been improved in the last few years. Last year, turns two, three and five were improved, turn six has never been on the top of anybody’s list to be improved, and that there is move run-off room in turns 8A and 9. Asked about reconfiguring turn one with cones, Barrick said he really didn’t know what the options were, everybody just said take the hill and the bridge away. He said the riders didn’t offer any other solution, and even since the AMA has been here this weekend, walls have been moved back around the track.

In conclusion, Page said, “There is no perfect racetrack, but if you compare Sears Point from five years ago to today, the difference is night and day. Sears Point has never hesitated to do work or spend money to make this a safe racing environment.”