TRACKS: Motorcycle Madness Hits Sears Point Raceway with Sonomafest 2001
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
March 27, 2001SONOMA, Calif. - Motorcycle madness will invade Sears Point Raceway as Sonomafest 2001roars into the Sonoma Wine Country for the sixth consecutive year.
Co-founded by Sears Point Raceway and Cycle World magazine, Sonomafest features everything from group motorcycle rides through the scenic wine country, to the fastest pavement road-racers in the land during this 10-day bonanza, April 27-May 6.
Activities get under way April 27-29 with the 5th annual AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days West. The event features a variety of vintage road racing on the twisting 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course and boasts more than 300 competitors in 16 different classes.
The featured marque for 2001 will be the Indian motorcycle, celebrating its 100th anniversary. It will be joined by classics such as Harley-Davidson, Norton, Triumph and Honda. The increasingly popular vintage motocross will return for a third straight year.
The highlight of Sonomafest will come May 4-6 with the AMA Superbike Challenge, featuring the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship. North America's top pavement riders, including 2000 champion Mat Mladin, will traverse the road course in excess of 100 mph with nothing but leathers and a helmet for protection.
In between the two spectacular weekends, fans can fill their time with a variety of motorcycle-themed activities, making Sonomafest the biggest event on the 2001 calendar for motorcycle enthusiasts.
The 10-day soiree includes: · Swap Meets. · Demonstration rides by manufacturers, including Triumph and BMW. · Organized group rides through the Sonoma Valley. · CLASS Motorcycle School. · Vintage motocross. · Vendor midway featuring the latest in motorcycle gear, seminars. · Kick-off parties in Berkeley and Santa Rosa. · All-women's group ride. · Motorcycle drag racing. · Extreme trials with Finland's Tommi Ahvala. · Cycle World magazine Vintage Rolling Concours. · Dirt-track racing at Vallejo Speedway.
Be sure to pick up the April issue of Cycle World, featuring an in-depth section devoted to all of the activities planned for Sonomafest 2001. Also, visit www.searspoint.com and www.cycleworld.com for all of the latest event updates.
AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days West will feature a full slate of exciting pavement racing sanctioned by the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA), plus the dirt-flying action of vintage motocross. The April 27-29 weekend will also feature observed trials for machines from the 1970s and earlier. AHRMA, a 15-year-old organization with more than 5,000 members nationwide, strives to recreate the past in a way that is fun, safe and competitive. There will be feature events in road racing, dirt track, motorcross, trials and hare scrambles. Motorcycles are grouped according to machine type and engine size and date back, as far as pre-1940.
Text provided by John Cardinale
Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit
The Racing Photo Museum and the
Visions of Speed Art Gallery.