Double the fun in the California sun

Monterey, CA – It’s almost impossible to fully describe the atmosphere at the combined WorldSBK and MotoAmerica weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.  There is a feeling that you have to experience first-hand in order to truly understand it.  No matter what the name of the circuit is, the history of Laguna Seca is undeniable and with the famed “Corkscrew” dominating all other named turns anywhere in the world, witness one race in person and you’ll get it, you’ll feel it and you’ll retell the story for a lifetime.  So, with that in mind, there’s possibly no better location to use as the backdrop for the mid-way point of the season.

Prior to the team’s arrival, it was announced that there would be a second rider for the three “West Coast” rounds.  Jayson Uribe of Napa Valley, CA joins the team to test the superbike waters after racing overseas on 125, Moto2 and Supersport platforms.  For the first time since making the switch to superbikes, there would be two riders under the Genuine Broaster Chicken / Honda canopy.  The excitement of adding a second rider was building off of two solid races for full time rider, Cameron Petersen.  With two riders the team could double the data which helps tremendously in development.  Add to this the fact that the team would also be able to have personal attention from the Honda Europe Electronics Technician as a result of the partnership forged between Honda Racing families.  All these pieces were falling into place to help create a confluence of optimism.

As the sun rose on Friday morning, there wasn’t the normal hustle as the team wouldn’t take to the track until after lunch.  Much like during the combined weekends with MotoGP, the times are adjusted to accommodate the schedule requirements of the visiting series.  This little bit of a reprieve, provided crew chief Scott Jensen with some needed time to wrap his head around the information being fired at him from the Honda Europe technicians.  By the time the bikes were wheeled to the track for Qualifying Practice (QP) 1, a lot of wizardry had been conducted and everyone was excited to see the results on Cam’s bike.  It didn’t take long to notice the difference.  Almost immediately, Cameron was feeling good and during pit stops was impressed with how well the bike was working for him.  The time sheets don’t lie and Cam was looking fast.  Jayson was focusing on getting acquainted with the fully prepped Honda CBR1000RR SP2.  It’s considerably different than his personal bike that he’d been running in AFM and he was all smiles at his first few laps.  When the first session was called, Cam had managed tenth fastest and Jayson impressed on his way to 14th.

A few short hours later, it was time for QP2.  This would be the most important session with respect to setting the Superpole entrants.  With a few more tweaks to the electronics, Cam and the Camp45 Crew liked their odds at getting a solid placement in Superpole, while Jayson and his crew knew it would be an uphill climb but still possible with just a few tenths.  40 mins is all they would get in order to steak their claim for advancement.  Cameron was immediately fast and on the pace with leading riders.  Things seemed to be going so well, there was a noticeable change in his body language on the bike.  The melding of rider to machine was happening and it was fascinating to witness.  On the 36 Machine (Uribe) a similar change was happening.  Jayson was quickly adapting to the bike and his lap times were continuing to improve.  The sun was getting low and a golden light began to envelop the track as the checkered flag flew on the session Jayson improved his time, but not his overall position, and would just miss out on Superpole.  Cameron on the other hand was in full race effect and nailed his highest ever position ahead of Superpole with an eighth place.  Looking at the times, the gap to third place was around a second.  It would be a fast and furious Superpole.

Saturday and it’s another beautiful and warm day on the dry lake bed.  It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of race day, but it’s important to not overlook the morning practice session and Superpole.  Typically, morning free practice sessions don’t see any improvement over the previous QP2 as track temps are cooler.  However, this is the craziness that is Laguna and on this morning, during free practice, both Cameron and Jayson turned out faster lap times than they had on Friday.  While the times don’t count for Superpole, they are a healthy indicator.  Sadly, Jayson’s bike was beginning to show the early signs of something being amiss with the electrons, the gremlins seemed to be poking around. Fortunately for his crew, they would have more time to work on the motorcycle while Cam had a short turnaround before the craziest 15 minutes of the weekend.

Cameron was excited for Superpole.  His speed in the morning session boosted his confidence ahead of the short but intense session.  First few laps out were to get accustomed to how the bike feels with the super sticky Dunlop “Q”, then a quick stop for any adjustments and a new rear tire before hanging it all on the line.  Cam let it all hang out and was rewarded with his highest ever qualifying position, 9th!  Again, position isn’t as much of an indicator as times and this time third through ninth were all within a second of each other.  The grid is set with Cam starting from P9 and Jayson in P14 for race one later in the afternoon.

Here’s where the story of the weekend makes a turn and for one of the riders, it’s a turn down the wrong road.  As the crowd was still in attendance, the MotoAmerica riders took to the track and their positions on the starting grid.  Cameron was his usual focused self while Jayson was smiling and masking the potential issue his crew was frantically trying to address on the grid.  While on the warm-up lap, Jayson’s machine was sputtering and left him behind as the lights went out.  Barely able to make it back to the pits before the start, Jayson’s debut superbike race would have to wait till race two on Sunday.

Cameron on the other hand, got a decent start and was battling with the lead group as they cleared turn two and wound their way towards the infamous “Corkscrew”.  Laguna is a tight and twisty circuit with very little room to make mistakes.  So as the race was in its early stages, there was an entertaining amount of rider interaction going on behind the leaders. Cam  was in a good battle behind Kyle Wyman and Jake Lewis.  As the laps wore on, Cameron made the pass on Kyle and just put the hammer down to catch Jake.  Within a matter of a few laps, Cam was looking to pass Jake and it didn’t take long.  Cam made the move around Jake to take over 7th place and never looked back.  He was chasing down Danny Eslick in 6th but the gap was too much to make up before the checkered flag flew.  A season best 7th was Cameron’s reward for riding an incredible race.

Fortunes would be a little different on Sunday.  Jayson’s crew worked to resolve the problems of race one and were fully prepared for race two.  The Camp45 crew were confident that they could do better than 7th and were chomping at the bit to go racing.  Everyone would get their chance in the early afternoon.  This time, as the riders set out on their sighting lap, Jayson’s bike was working flawlessly as was Cam’s.  The lights went out and both riders got off to a good start.  The mad scramble into turn two bumped them both down the order a bit but still within the main pack.  By about the fourth or fifth lap an issue popped up on Cam’s dash and in diagnosing the problem he became engaged in a back and fourth battle with his new teammate Jayson.  In the span of about four laps, the pair exchanged the tenth position before Cameron was able to gain proper control and settle down.  Jayson was hot on his rear tire through the mid-point of the race but would eventually lose touch and settle in for an impressive debut finish in 11th place.  Cam would achieve another solid points scoring position in tenth.

The races matched the energetic atmosphere!  Jayson impressed in his debut and is eager to get to Utah and continue his development.  Cam scores a season best result and seems to be firing on all cylinders heading to the desert of Utah.  Hopefully this can be the season that the team puts to rest the ghosts of previous seasons and emerge from Utah with even better results for both riders.

Cameron Petersen – 45

Jayson Uribe – 36

Danny Walker – Team Principal

Scott Jensen – Crew Chief