Anthony Vanetti comes close but misses qualifying in Sonoma

SONOMA, CA – MAVTV/Protect The Harvest/Lucas Oil rider Anthony Vanetti is learning the hard way how difficult the Pro Stock Motorcycle class can be.

Vanetti failed to qualify for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals on Saturday at Sonoma Raceway, getting bumped out of the top 16 in the final qualifying session. He’ll have to wait until the race in Charlotte to make his official race debut.

“I’m definitely learning more with each lap,” Vanetti said. “I’m getting more comfortable with the bike, although it didn’t show in Q4. We’ve just got to move on to the next one, stay positive, and learn from it. I’ve got to forget about what happened because I don’t want to dwell on that, for sure.”

Vanetti had just been bumped out of the field by Melissa Surber, whose pass of 6.975 seconds at 189.31 mph moved her into the No. 15 spot. Vanetti was in the water box at the time but felt he could go even quicker than his official qualifying time of 7.120 seconds at 187.4 4mph.

“After running 7.12 in Q3, I felt really good,” Vanetti said. “Melissa ran the 6.97 right in front of me, which bumped me, but I felt real confident going up there and felt like I was going to make the show. Unfortunately, sometimes racing can be that way. It’s the school of hard knocks, I guess you’d say.”

When Vanetti launched, his bike began to drift toward the centerline. He tried to correct and get the bike going straight again, but it eventually crossed the centerline as Vanetti clipped a foam timing block.

“It just went right the whole way, and I think the headwind strengthened the move to the right,” Vanetti said. “I didn’t get it corrected the first two times, and then it was too late. I plucked one of the foam blocks with my left foot, and I’ve got a sore foot right now.”

Vanetti will attempt to make the field next month in Charlotte.

“On to Charlotte,” Vanetti said. “Maybe after Brainerd we can do some testing in Indy. We’ll see. Hector (Arana Sr.’s) real busy and has to get his new chassis and body ironed, so a test session is up in the air. If not, I’ll have four laps in Charlotte to get it in the show so it can be my real debut.”