Moto-Jam, Vintage Bike Show, & Zero Emissions Race at Infinion Raceway in Sonoma, California

Story and Photos by Rodent

After going through online credentialing procedure, we were good to go for a weekend of racing at the former Sears Point now renamed Infinion (German chip maker) Raceway located north of the Golden Gate Bridge at the top of San Francisco Bay. It was a great excuse to spend a couple of days in San Francisco and hang with friends, shoot a great Frisco-style FXR and drink cappuccinos at North Beach’s Café Trieste and then get to the track to doing my job. Friday morning I crossed the Golden Gate and sped up the 101 to the Hwy 37 turnoff to the track. Credentialing was a breeze and I got to renew acquaintances with John Cardinale who used to be the media guy the first time I went to an antique motorcycle weekend years ago. He’s now is in charge of the publicity department. Media boss Diana Brennan and her entire media crew couldn’t have been more helpful. At rallies you automatically have permission to stroll around and shoot photos, but the pits are tightly controlled at AMA sanctioned races so sometimes the credential process is a pain, but not this time.

Wandering around the vendor area, which had a major National Guard presence, we came to a couple of interesting vintage bike exhibits. One was a bunch of local Japanese bike enthusiasts with old Hondas, Kawasaki two strokes, and the like. Oldies but goodies from days before the mad rush to become a biker. Then there was a movie stuntman from Auburn, CA who builds, modifies, and converts racing bikes. He had a BSA, a Matchless, a Harley, an Indian, and a Norton that were nothing like the bikes that left their respective factories.

On Saturday, Elena Myers, a 16-year-old girl from the Stockton area won the 600cc class. When a red flag was dropped, she was in the lead and the AMA called the race complete. Then on Sunday the leader dumped his bike on the front straight and the raced was red flagged. Once again the 16-year-old was leading. This race was restarted, however, and someone else won. Elena came in 6th in a race at Daytona in March and has raced Atlanta and is considered to be a rising star. Should Valentino Rossi watch his rear view mirror?

Sunday, May 16, marked the first ever AMA-sanctioned zero-carbon race in the United States. It was named the Time Trial Xtreme Grand Prix (TTXGP) U.S. Championship. Shawn Higbee rode the Zero/Agni electric motorcycle with a Corbin seat across the finish line with a 14-second victory over Lightning Motors’ runner-up Michael Barnes. In the first zero emissions race ever held on US soil, a bike from Zero Motorcycles of Santa Cruz, CA surfed home the winner. The loudest sound was the whizzing of the chain and sprockets. In fact, Shawn said when he wanted to pass a bike in front of him, he blew his horn so the competitor wouldn’t be spooked. San Francisco based Jennifer Bromme from Werkstatt Racing, riding the Mavizen TTX02 electric superbike finished 4th. The other Zero bike ran out of power before the end of the race so the rider  jumped off and pushed it across the finish line which the crowd enjoyed.