Team Latus Motors Racing - Infineon Race Report

The Infineon circuit is located in the rolling hills of Sonama, California.  Not only is this the racetrack where Steve began his racing career, the crew of the Latus Motors Racing Ducati had an opportunity to do an approved AMA test here earlier this year.  We were excited to get up to speed and put to use the data we had collected at the test.

At last year’s Infineon round the temperatures were very high and made finishing the races a challenge of its own.  This year we were in seventy degree temps and it was a good weekend to go racing.

In the first on track session Friday morning were taking our time to break in a fresh motor.  Our lap times immediately put us to P2 on the board.  When Steve came in to let the motor cool the engine builder in me couldn’t help but give him a friendly reminder that this was a brand new motor and P2 wasn’t what I really had in mind for break in pace.  At this time Steve turned to me and said, “We are not going fast, they are just not up to speed yet and I am taking it easy.”  To all of us this was a good indicator that he was comfortable on the bike and we were on our way to a solid weekend.

Later in the afternoon we prepared for basic qualifying with the weather, track temps, and time of day of tomorrows final qualifying we came to the conclusion that today may be the best opportunity to throw down a quick lap.  As a result of our effort we ended basic qualifying in P2 with a 1:38.6.

Just as we had predicted the day before most of the times in the morning session on Saturday were slower than the days before. Our time was good enough to hold up for a solid front row grid position. 

In the opening laps of race one Steve was off to a good start near the front of the group when he inadvertently turned the motorcycle off going into turn three.   After post race inspection we all agreed that we had placed the switch housing a little too close to the grip.  When Steve went to roll the throttle  back on and the motor was dead his instincts immediately told him that there must be some sort of major mechanical.  After safely clearing the race line the motor re-fired at a touch of the button and he was back underway.  Unfortunately by this time we were in twenty fifth position. Putting his head down Steve delivered an amazing through the pack performance to finish in eighth position.

We prepared for race two upset with our first race bobble, but focused to avoid such things in the future.  Sunday’s race was off to a good start and Steve had worked his way up to second position when a red flag was thrown to care for an injured rider.  Once the track was cleared we found ourselves in fifth position after a bit of a bumpy restart.  Steve got into his groove and found several areas on the track where he could make up time and diligently made his way up to the leader Danny Eslick.  After passing Danny up the inside on the way down the hill last year’s champion proved quickly that it would not be that easy to put him behind us as he came back by on the brakes in turn seven.  We would need to tuck in behind and follow Danny for a bit longer and wait for another opportunity.  With five laps to go Steve once again got around the Suzuki of Danny and put his head down to ensure he could stay there.  With two laps remaining and Steve unaware that the second place bike has gotten caught behind lappers going into turn one Steve kept his head down and tried to establish a safe gap between him and the field.  After setting the fastest lap of the race we unfortunately had a low side crash going into turn four.  After picking up the bike and a quick inspection it was obvious to the corner worker that our SpeedyMoto crash parts had done there job and although we took a direct hit on the water pump cover all of it’s fluid were contained and Steve was given the go ahead to re-enter the track.  With a broken shifter and no left hand foot peg Steve was able to finish the remaining lap in a disappointing sixteenth position.   

Although this was the nearest we’ve come to a win so far it was also the worst finishing position we have had all year.   We are disappointed with the result but are pleased with our ability to run at the front of this very competitive AMA field.  Now back at the shop we are aggressively preparing for a no holds barred attack on Road America!