Another Day at the Races

After replacing the radiator in my brother-in-law's CBR600 in the morning, my friend Mark and I headed over to the West Coast Moto Jam at Infineon Raceway.

SuperSport 600cc race start--lots of empty seats

I've been a few times before and the races don't change a lot year to year, but it's always fun to go.  Plus, the track is so close to where I live there's almost no excuse not to.

After an awesome breakfast that my wife made we rode 12 miles out Highway 37 to the track.  We were able to park right next to the bleachers by turn 4, easy walking distance to the starting line.  Attendance was low as it was last year.  The gear check was fast and efficient, no trouble there.  It was a nice clear day but really hot at the track.  I wouldn't have wanted to be racing in full leathers in that weather.

We got there right at the end of the XR1200 (Harley Davidson) race.  I guess Harleys only race other Harleys.  Then we wandered around the vendor tents for awhile.  It didn't take long to see all of them as there were fewer than in previous years.  Then the first of the two 600cc races started.  There were three red flags due to crashes which slowed down the schedule.  Elena Myers took 11th place in that race.  That was impressive although she was in 5th position at one point.  It will be interesting to see how the sport changes as more women start competing on the track.  At the very least one wonders who will be holding the umbrellas.

We left the bleachers and went to the stands in the family area for the second 600cc race.

Finally the SuperBike race started and we went to the stands by turn 9, which is the closest you can get to the bikes.

View from turn 9.  Note empty stands across the track

Josh Hayes got off to a great start and was in first place until he dumped his bike right in front of us.  It looked like the rear wheel slid out.  He picked it up and rejoined the race in last place.  He eventually finished 7th, which we thought was pretty impressive.

All in all not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and the low turnout meant plenty of seating and easy parking.  But it is a bit ominous that the motorcycle industry doesn't seem to have recovered at all from the economic downturn if the last two years at SuperBike are any indication.  People don't have money for toys when the economy goes south, and motorcycles are still toys to most of us Americans.  One might think that affordable transportation would be an appealing idea during hard times, but the industry has yet to figure out how to turn that into an opportunity.