American Federation of Motorcyclists - AFM - Track Info - Infineon

AFM - Track Info - Infineon - Racers Perspective

Written by AFM Editor

Sears Point (now Infineon Raceway) has always been known as a 'Rider's Track': a challenging mountain course where skill, not horsepower, is the deciding factor. With 2.5 miles of twists & straights, hills and flats, this unique race track lends itself to exciting competition for riders and excellent viewing for spectators. The following is a description of what Sears Point 'feels' like from the saddle at racing speeds and where some of the best spots are to watch the action from the sidelines.

Following are two different perspectives written about Sears Point (pre-Infineon days) by a racer and a spectator. Even though the track is now called Infineon and many changes have been made to the facility, there is still great information in both of the views below.

Sears Point From Two Views

Start/finish is where the race begins and your adrenalin begins pumping well before the green flag drops. When the Starter puts the number one board sideways, you are in gear and revving the motor tight... a flash of the green flag and you're slipping the clutch, banging gears and accelerating hard... all the while trying to manuever past (or avoid) the other bikes to put yourself in a good position to enter the left-right combination that becomes Turn 2. Watching the start anywhere near the start/finish line is exciting, but the bridge over start/finish is a very popular spot. Since the bridge leads to grandstands on the inside of the track, many people catch the start from the bridge and then run up to the stands to watch the rest of the race.

Turn 2 is a deceptive, hard right hand turn; steeply uphill, blind and off-camber as you enter but flattens out as you exit. Entering fast with momentum can be difficult, but pays off with hard acceleration at the exit as a reward... many riders have found that too much throttle mid-turn can break traction and ruin their whole day! Spectators, on the other hand, can catch a wonderful view of the bottom of a racebike from the outside of Turn 2, as well as heart pumping glimpses of riders attempting passes with various levels of success... the thrills are especially high on the starting lap when 50-65 bikes attempt to funnel through!

Turns 3 & 3a are exhilarating; a fast down then up left followed by a fast up then down right, a combination that taxes ground clearance first and then traction second. When done well, this combo lets you touch both knees down within a couple of seconds! A good spot to watch is on the uphill side at Turn 3a where you can see the most radical transitions, as well as the riders exit and approach to Turn 4.

Turn 4, a right hander, is the steepest corner on the course; hard braking at the entrance is made harder due to the 15% incline and the slight off-camber entrance. It is a good spot to pass others and, once past the apex, the downhill helps your acceleration tremendously! The wall on the outside of Turn 4 is a great place to view the braking and passing manuevers.

Turn 5 is an extremely fast right hand sweeper that is notable mostly because it leads to Turn 6, the infamous 'Carousel'. The speed gained from Turn 4 through Turn 5 makes the blind up & over entrance to the Carousel a blast... a single gear down or maybe a stab of the brakes is all you need, then it's down, down, down... accelerating through a long left hand sweeper that dumps you out at the bottom of the hill and heading rapidly up a long straightaway (one of the few at Sears). There is a bridge that allows easy access (from the pit area below Turn 2) to Turn 6, and another bridge at Turn 6 that crosses the track... viewing race action in The Carousel from either the inside or the outside of the turn is excellent.

Turn 7 is at the end of the straight. It is a bumpy, dual apex, right hand hairpin that requires hard braking at the entrance, an extreme lean angle in the middle and hard acceleration at the exit. Vantage points along the fence at the exit are good for watching the passing strategies and duels, especially since this spot is slightly elevated.

Turns 8, 8a and 9 are known as 'The Esses'... a sequential left-right-left-right-left set of slightly banked turns, each turn faster than the preceding one. These are very fun but very critical turns where strong acceleration, precise placement and quick transitions allow you to gain alot of speed; the downhill section between Turns 8a and 9 is usually the fastest part of the race track and a common place to use passing strategies. The hill above the Esses provides a birds-eye view of these turns, as well a portion of the Carousel, Start/finish, and a glimpse of Turn 4. You will be slightly farther from the track and binoculars are handy. There are two bridges accessing this hill, one between Turns 6 & 7 and the other from the grandstand area near Start/finish.

Turn 10 is a fast right hand turn; one or two down shifts and it's back on the gas as you fly towards Turn 11, a tight right-hand hairpin. Braking hard into Turn 11 you pitch the bike way over and try one more passing manuever (since you're almost to the finish line). The Chicane is a very tight, (almost) no passing room right-left combo that exits right near Start/finish. Power wheelies exiting the Chicane are almost unavoidable. From the grandstands, the view of Turns 9, 10, 11, the Chicane and Start/finish is excellent; you can see the riders entering Turn 2 and exiting Turn 6 from here as well. For a closer view of Turn 11 or the Chicane, you can walk along the fence or in the pedestrian lane of Pre-grid. You may see a little air between the the rear wheel and the asphalt when the leaders in Formula II brake into Turn 11.

You're now flying past Start/Finish & Turn 1, heading back up towards Turn 2 and another fast lap. Sears Point is like no other track. It is demanding & tough, yet fun & exhilarating... we hope you enjoy the experience! The Ring Road (see maps of Infineon) is open unless it has rained and is muddy. Driving around the track on the Ring Road allows you to go to a number of spots easily, but there's no substitute for parking and exploring on foot if you want to get close to the action. Mountain bikes are another great way to travel around the track, but please be extremely careful when riding through the pits (walking them is preferred).