Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1151987
CN III ARCHIVES O f the venues on the Mo- toAmerica Superbike calendar, the track with the longest history of national road racing is Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. When MotoAmerica makes its an- nual stop at the track next weekend, it will mark the 50th anniversary since the AMA Road Race National was first held at the scenic Bay Area circuit in 1969. The origins of the track, once known as Sears Point, can be traced back to the late 1960s when a pair of North Bay racing fans, Jim Coleman and Robert Marshall Jr., was on a hunting trip on the hillside overlook- ing the San Pablo Bay's mudflats. The two agreed that the rolling hills would make an ideal setting for a racing circuit. By the end of 1968, the twisting, hilly 2.5-mile, 12-turn road race track, with an integrated drag-racing strip, was completed. The next year, 1969, was the first full P118 stroke motorcycle won a premier class AMA Grand National. Baumann earned $3450 (almost $24,000 in today's dollars) for his win. Road racing sequences for a movie, starring Robert Redford, called Little Fauss and Big Halsy were filmed during that first weekend. Sadly, the first weekend also witnessed the first casualty of a motorcycle racer at the track when Lee Patterson, of Fresno, hit a hay bale that landed on the racing line in turn seven when Bart Markel crashed during a practice session. Patterson hit the bale, fell, and was then hit by a couple of oncoming riders. The Patterson incident was the first of many severe injuries and even deaths for riders competing on a track that had little runoff and was lined with dangerous guardrail and hillsides. Starting in the late 1980s, and accelerating in the mid-'90s after the facility began finally being man- racing season for Sears Point. Interestingly, the hill on the back- side of the track is the southernmost peak of the Sonoma Mountains. It offers excellent vistas of San Pablo Bay. The track was named in honor of Franklin Sears who settled on the land south of Sonoma in 1851. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported that in old age, Sears had dementia and sometimes wandered off aimlessly into the hills. When his absence was discovered, the local fire bell would ring, and the commu- nity would gather to search the hills until he was found. The first AMA National held at the track was on September 7, 1969, and it was a historical event. North- ern Californian Art Baumann raced a Suzuki TR500 to victory over Ron Pierce (Yamaha) and Roger Reiman (Harley-Davidson) in the 125-mile national on what was a blazingly hot day. It marked the first time a two- A HALF-CENTURY IN SONOMA BY LARRY LAWRENCE Ron Pierce (97) gets a killer start at the AMA Lightweight race at Sears Point (now Sonoma Raceway) in September of 1969. Art Baumann (71) came back later that weekend and won the first AMA Road Race National on a Suzuki. PHOTO: CYCLE NEWS ARCHIVES