o n Canet's STTARS se ries visited
Northern Ca lifornia's Infine o n
Raceway for a weeke nd of
superrnoto action run in conjunc tion w ith AMA Pro Raci ng' s
Kawasaki Superbike Showdown. The supermotards on hand for the STTARS exhib ition race
faced o ne of the longest, fastest tracks in Ameri can supermoto history. The IS-turn, 1.2-mile
course utilized t urns four through eight of the
Infineon road-race circuit and actually ran in the
opposite direction of t he tradit ional road
course. Added to this was a tight and challenging d irt section that included e lements of flat
track and motocross.
Due to stringent scheduling limitations, the
superrnoto event consisted of only two classes
followingthe conclus ion of AMA road -race activity each day. Saturday featu red the Novice and
Open Expert classes, with the 2SOcc Amateur
and 4SOccPro classes run on Sunday. Spectators
were treated to plenty of bar-banging racing on
both days, as many of the top Pros also entered
Saturday's Open Expert class for the add itional
track time .
The course configuration was well thought
out. The dirt section was located right in front of
the grandstand, from which the best back-it-in
paved comers were also in view. Though the
D
40th Anniversary
road course provided racers with more curves
and high-speed sections than they could ever ask
for; most of the day' s drama and spillstoo k place
in the dirt , giving fans a bird 's-eye view of the
excitement. Canet did a nice jo b of putt ing the
co urse together, and one of the more common
exclamations heard in the paddock was, "Wow,
what an awes ome track!" The fast, sweeping,
road-race-style comers were well balanced by
the tech nically challenging dirt portion, making
fo r a great equalizer among riders of off-road
and road-race backgrounds.
Saturday 's O pe n Expert race saw top riding
talent from around the United States, in add ition
to a European ringer. Team CHM Exhaust flew in
its hired gun, Fre nchman Alexandre Thiebaul t,
to challenge America 's best supermotards.
Thiebau lt took to the long, European-style
track almost immediately, though he struggled a
bit with the setu p of his Ho nda CRF4S0 early in
the program. In the first Open Expert heat race ,
Northern California local Jason "Bling Bling"
Pullengot the holes hot, leading the pack through
the dirt sect ion in fro nt of the cheering crowd.
Top Pros Casey Yarrow and Cory Call soon
caught Pullen, Call benefiting greatly from the
years he spent in the AFM and AMA as a road
racer. Newcomer Brandon Currie also looked
tough in the heat races , riding a YamahaYZ4S0F
