by Mike Solis

The European Motorcycle Accessories Formula Pacific race at Infineon Raceway this past weekend had no shortage of action and drama, with a red flag bringing the action to a halt less than a minute after the start. According to eyewitnesses, it all started to unfold when the pack reached the top of the hill, where Michael Earnest of Pacific Tracktime highsided. According to witnesses, Earnest’s GSX-R1000 spit him off in Turn 3A, landing on top of him as he slid down the short chute into Turn 4. When the dust settled, Earnest refused the ambulance ride and remounted his damaged bike, returning to the pits where his crew attempted to make the necessary repairs. With the clock ticking, David Sadowski Jr son of former Daytona 200 winner and professional commentator Dave Sadowski offered Earnest his 2006 Yamaha R6, which Earnest graciously accepted just in time for the restart.

When the green flag dropped, James Randolph jumped out to an early lead on his Cycle Pro GSX-R1000, pulling away from the pack early as he looked for a repeat of his dominating performance in the previous round. Riding his Arclight Suzuki GSX-R1000, defending Formula Pacific champion Dave Stanton quickly worked his way into second in pursuit of Randolph, while Earnest continued to drop positions on the unfamiliar R6, fighting the pain from what many believed to be a fractured leg as he attempted to salvage points. In the end, Randolph’s early lead proved to be too much for Stanton, as Randolph went on to take his second straight Formula Pacific victory. Stanton crossed the line in second with David Bell in third.

“That was the plan from the get go I just wanted to give it all I could on the first lap, and see if I could get a gap,” stated Randolph from the winners circle. “I was able to do it, and that let me just cruise and have a good time from there. A lot of people helped make this happen if Zenzo from Cycle Pro, Josh from Tire Shark (the trackside Pirelli distributor), and my dad weren’t helping me out, I definitely wouldn’t be here!”

Randolph had another strong performance in GP Frame and Wheel Open Superbike race later in the day, breaking away early from a heated five-rider battle for second between Martin Szwarc, Corey Sarros, David Bell, Rob Mesa, and Argentinean Supermoto Champion Leonardo Bagnis. At the checkered flag, Randolph crossed the line and took his second win of the day, with Szwarc in second and Sarros third.

Despite an injured foot, Stanton took a decisive win in the Take It 2 The Track Open Production race, crossing the line three seconds ahead of the R1 ridden by Leonardo Bagnis. Corey Sarros crossed the line in third, but was later disqualified for an illegal master cylinder.

“It was a rough weekend,” explained Stanton. “Thursday night, when I was loading my toolbox, I basically dropped it on my foot and had to go to the hospital. I got six stitches, returned home and finished loading at around 11 PM it was a nightmare. I’m just really glad it’s over!”

Bobby Fong put in a pair of strong performances at Infineon, taking victories in both 600 classes for the second straight time this season on his Net Moto Racing Yamaha R6. Also doing the double was Garry Combs, winning both the Scuderia West Formula 1 race as well as the 750 Superbike race.

“Parriott had a big lead early in 750 Superbike I did my best laps of the day when I chased him down, getting into the 1:39s,” Combs explained afterwards. “That win really helped me out, I think Robert Campbell and I should be really close in the points now. In Formula 1, fortunately Gulbransen was on his little bike, so we were able to drop the hammer on him with the Matsushima Performance horsepower for the first time this year. I guess he had a little battle with Campbell, which let me gap him. Terry from Dunlop hooked me up with a great new rear tire, letting me go half a second a lap faster than I did last month! Even though I crashed in Formula 1 trying to outbrake Parriott into Turn 11 which was really just a dumb move on my part I had a great weekend!”

Parriott had an excellent weekend, showing the field as well as the Northern California motorcycle community the capabilities of his San Jose BMW R1200S. In the Suzuki of Oakland 750 Production race, Parriott came out on top of a heated battle with Garry Combs, which ended with Combs lowsiding in the last turn of the last lap while attempting a Hail Mary outside pass to take the lead. Earlier in the day, Parriott took the win in the Desmoto Sport Open Twins race after points leader Eric Gulbransen dropped out of the race early with mechanical problems. Craig McLean finished crossed the line in second, with Patrick Blackburn of Trackside Moto in third.

“Gary was able to motor me in Formula 1, but I could get him back with drive out of 8A and on the brakes into 9,” said Parriott. “That’s where this BMW works really well at the top of 8A, I can just keep it pinned, while the other guys have to let their bikes settle. I was able to get Combs back into 9, then I saw him trying to go by me into 11. All I could think was ‘Dude, I’m braking as hard as I can you’re not gonna make that!’ And sure enough, he was on the ground I hope I didn’t jinx him! I was banging cylinder heads off of the curb in 4, and actually cracked the engine cover in 8. If you set the engine down too hard on these things, the metal can’t really take it!”

A few notable winning streaks were also broken this past weekend at Infineon. In the Teresa McKinney Realtor Formula 40 race, John “JT” Turmell took the win on his GSX-R1000, bringing the five-race winning stream of Zoom Zoom Trackdays head instructor Shawn Reilly to a close. In the Kilowatt Bar 250 Superbike race, Andrew Duafala took the win with points leader Shawn Herrera finishing second, ending Herrera’s perfect season.

The Zoom Zoom Trackdays Formula 4 race had a bit of a chaotic start, with David Civiello highsiding out of the lead in Turn 9A early in the race. The crash also claimed the Spears Racing SV650 of David Raff, who had no option but to go right over Civiello. While both riders walked away unharmed, the melee gave Tom Dorsey the chance he needed to break away at the front on his Twin Works Factory SV650, but it wasn’t enough as points leader Kurt Spencer eventually closed the gap and made the pass on his own Twin Works Factory SV650 before taking the win. Dorsey came back later in the day in the 650 Twins race, taking the win after successfully executing a pass on Spencer in the last turn on the last lap.

“I had the lead for seven laps in 650 Twins, when I suddenly saw Kurt come underneath me into 7,” said Dorsey. “We came up on lappers in 9, and Kurt was kinda stuck. That let me set up for a good drive out, which let me get him on the brakes into 11. The whole time, I was just thinking to myself, ‘Oh please, let’s just hold onto this lead!’ It was a great weekend, as we had a Twin Works Factory team sweep in Formula 1 and 650 Twins. We also took the win in the 600 class in the 4 Hour on an SV650!”

In the annual AFM 4-Hour endurance race, it was Trackside Moto team of Cory Call and Patrick Blackburn who took the 750 class win as well as the overall win, completing 127 laps on a Ducati 999. Second place in the 750 and the overall classes went to the San Jose BMW team of Brian Parriott and Tom Montano, who completed 125 laps on a BMW R1200S. Despite being recognized by many as a dying class, the 750 class had the deepest field in the race, which counted for five of the top six in the overall.

“We had the bike set up that morning in practice, and did some really good laptimes,” said Call. “We just tried to stay consistent, keeping pace with everyone else. We did the whole race on one set of tires, so the Dunlops really worked out well! All the practice we’ve been getting with Pacific Tracktime has helped too. That was my first time on the bike yesterday those Ducatis have some good torque! Usually ‘Ducati’ and ‘Endurance Racing’ don’t really go together, but we got it to last at least four hours yesterday. That was fun!”

The final round of the 2006 AFM season is scheduled to take place on October 22nd at Buttonwillow.

AFM Round 7 Infineon Raceway Unofficial Results

European Motorcycle Accessories / PVM Wheels Formula Pacific 1. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 2. David Stanton (Suz 1000) 3. David Bell (Suz 1000) 4. Corey Sarros (Suz 1000) 5. Ken Hill (Hon 1000) 6. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000)

GP Frame and Wheel Open Superbike 1. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 2. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 3. Corey Sarros (Suz 1000) 4. Robert Mesa (Suz 1000) 5. Leonardo Bagnis (Yam 1000) 6. Garry Combs (Suz 1000)

750 Superbike 1. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 2. Brian Parriott (BMW 1200) 3. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) 4. David Bell (Suz 750) 5. Robert Campbell (Suz 750) 6. Kim Nakashima (Suz 750)

Pacific Tracktime 600 Superbike 1. Bobby Fong (Yam 600) 2. Grant Riggs 3. Ken Hill 4. Ryan Texeira 5. David Glenn (Suz 600) 6. David Sadowski Jr (Yam 600)

450 Superbike 1. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400) 2. Mark Elrod (Hon 450) 3. Craig Sanders (Kaw 400) 4. Greg Becker (Hon 400) 5. Bob Simmons (Hon 400) 6. David Wallis (Hon 400)

Kilowatt 250 Superbike 1. Andrew Duafala (Yam 250) 2. Shawn Herrera (Yam 250) 3. Cliff Farrar (Yam 250) 4. Joe Rust (Yam 250) 5. Steve Mandeville (Kaw 250)

Take it 2 the Track Open Production 1. David Stanton (Suz 1000) 2. Leonardo Bagnis (Yam 1000) 3. Andy Carman (Suz 1000) 4. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 5. David Kunzelman (Suz 1000) 6. Mike Thompson (Yam 1000)

Suzuki of Oakland 750 Production 1. Brian Parriott (BMW 1200) 2. Robert Campbell (Suz 750) 3. Kim Nakashima (Suz 750) 4. Liko Miles (Suz 750) 5. Berto Wooldridge (Suz 750) 6. Dan Sewell (Suz 750)

Keigwins@theTrack 600 Production 1. Bobby Fong (Yam 600) 2. Chris Siglin (Suz 600) 3. Ken Hill (Hon 600) 4. Grant Riggs (Suz 600) 5. Rick Corey (Yam 600) 6. David Glenn (Suz 600)

450 Production 1. Greg Becker (Hon 400) 2. Craig Sanders (Kaw 400) 3. Mark Elrod (Hon 400) 4. David Wallis (Hon 400) 5. Gordon Johnson (Kaw 400) 6. Peter Licht (Yam 400)

Aftershocks 250 Production 1. Michael Corbino (Kaw 250) 2. David Crone (Hon 250) 3. Vlastimil Kotyza (Kaw 250) 4. Adam Klinger (Hon 250) 5. Andrew Boehm (Kaw 250) 6. Susan Urquhart (Kaw 250)

PowerStands Open Grand Prix 1. David Bell (Suz 1000) 2. Chuck Sorensen (MV 1000) 3. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 4. Corey Sarros (Suz 1000) 5. Robert Mesa (Suz 1000) 6. Mike Thompson (Yam 1000)

Scuderia West Formula 1 1. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 2. Eric Gulbransen (Duc 749) 3. Robert Campbell (Suz 750) 4. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) 5. David Bell (Suz 750) 6. Dan Sewell (Suz 750)

Mazda Technologies Formula 2 1. Jeff Leggitt (Yam 250) 2. Jeffry Hanford (Hon 250) 3. Dan Cook (Yam 250) 4. Phillip Torres (Yam 250) 5. Dante D’Ambruoso (Yam 250) 6. Richard Denman (Hon 250)

Formula 3 1. Carlos Neves (Hon 125) 2. Steve Magri (Hon 125) 3. Jeffrey Lim (Hon 125) 4. James Eckerman (Hon 125) 5. Phillip Krenn (Hon 125) 6. Jeremiah Carlson (Hon 125)

Zoom Zoom Trackdays Formula 4 1. Kurt Spencer (Suz 650) 2. Thomas Dorsey (Suz 650) 3. Jay Avansino (Suz 650) 4. Jay Kinberger (Suz 650) 5. Jeff Hagan (Suz 650) 6. Evan Lessuk (Suz 650)

Desmoto Sport Open Twins 1. Brian Parriott (Duc 1200) 2. Craig McLean (Duc 999) 3. Patrick Blackburn (Duc 999) 4. Bud Anderson (Hon 1000) 5. Lance Williams (Duc 996) 6. Thomas Montano (Duc 749)

650 Twins 1. Thomas Dorsey (Suz 650) 2. Kurt Spencer (Suz 650) 3. Jay Avansino (Suz 650) 4. David Civiello (Suz 650) 5. Jeff Hagan (Suz 650) 6. Aaron Tulchinsky (Suz 650)

500 Twins 1. Kevin Smith (Gib 500) 2. Joe Sickle (Suz 500) 3. Jonathan Forman (Suz 500) 4. Leonard Barker Jr (Kaw 500) 5. Michael Corbino (Kaw 250) 6. Patrick Aldinger (Kaw 500)

Formula Singles 1. Gerry Piazza (Yam 660) 2. Chris Keane (Hon 450) 3. Billy Ray (Hon 450) 4. Zane Halvorsen (KTM 450) Super Dinosaur

Teresa McKinney Realtor Formula 40 1. John Turmell (Suz 1000) 2. Shawn Reilly (Suz 1000) 3. Bud Anderson (Hon 1000) 4. Mike Thompson (Yam 1000) 5. Spencer Stuart (Yam 600) 6. Rick McDaniel (Suz 1000)

Super Dinosaur 1. Neil O’Reilly (Suz 750) 2. Jason McBreen (Suz 750) 3. Michael Nishita (Yam 400) 4. Andrew Boehm (Suz 750) 5. Charles Leca (Yam 600) 6. Noe Pulido (Yam 400)

Clubman Heavyweight 1. Justin Mastalka (Hon 1000) 2. Ryan Gorman (Suz 1000) 3. Jeff Smith (Suz 1000) 4. Ken Casey (Hon 1000) 5. Neil Atterbury (Hon 1000) 6. Brian Mitchell (Duc 996)

Clubman Middleweight 1. Matthew Sadowski (Yam 600) 2. Jason McBreen (Hon 600) 3. Jason Weiser (Yam 600) 4. David O’Mara (Suz 600) 5. Andy Allen (Yam 600) 6. Robert Brown (Yam 600)

Clubman Lightweight 1. David Heiss (Suz 650) 2. Donald Babb (Duc 800) 3. Jeremiah Carlson (Hon 125) 4. Braden Riley (Suz 650) 5. Noe Pulido (Yam 400) 6. David Canzano (Suz 650)

Endurance 250 1. 4 Strokes Suck (Jeff Lim, Carlos Neves, Will Morton – Hon 125) 2. Two Dudes Racing (James Eckerman, Marcus Henderson – Hon 125) 3. LRG Racing (Kevyn Miyata, Paul Yoshimune, Elaine Ou, Sherwick Min – Hon 125) 4. Team Plushie (Hon 250)

Endurance 450 – 1. Twin Works Factory (Kurt Spencer, Jonathan Forman, Joe Sickle, Zoran Vujasinovic – Suz 500) 2. Flying Rust Monkeys (Peter Licht, Rick Cramer, Fred Elizondo – Yam 400) 3. 4 Monkeys, a Chimp, and a Football (David Wallis, Greg Becker, Dave Munoz, Mark Elrod, Kathy Kuwaye – Hon 400) 4. Faultline Racing (Paul Kiefer, Leonard Barker Jr, Craig Farless, Charles Leca, Michael Emmons – Kaw 500)

Endurance 600 – 1. Twin Works Factory Other Guys (Tom Dorsey, Jay Avansino, Mike Metcalf, Aaron Tulchinski – Suz 650) 2. Net Moto (David Glenn, Matt Eccleston, Kenny Carlotta – Yam 600) 3. Pacific Trackside Moto (Michael Lawrence, Jason Butler – Yam 600) 4. Jelly Belly Fastline (Grant Riggs, Alex Torres, Fred Broom – Suz 600) 5. Dial It In Tracktime (Brian Long, Kenyon Kluge, William Willis – Suz 600) 6. Team Clean Cut (Ali Khosroshahi, Spencer Stuart, Jeff Gagne – Yam 600)

Endurance 750 – 1. Trackside Moto (Patrick Blackburn, Cory Call – Duc 999) 2. San Jose BMW (Brian Parriott, Tom Montano – BMW 1200) 3. Queer Eye for the Fast Guys (David Bell, Peter O’Sullivan – Suz 750) 4. Far from Pukin (Scott Wilson, James King – Suz 750) 5. Desmoto Sport (Matt Green, Lance Williams, Simon Williams – Duc 996) 6. Mojo Italiano (Michael Aron, Eric Gulbransen, Craig McLean – Duc 999)

Endurance Open – 1. Leatherneck Racing (Gary Jaehne, Tom Bolles – Suz 1000) 2. Redwood Packaging Racing (Ron Bunten, John Henry, Jeff Graham – Suz 1000) 3. The Fit, The Gimp, and The Geek (Mark Montalvo, Dan Endecott, Bud Anderson – Suz 1000) 4. Steel Horse Stands Racing (Tony Patton, Jeff Englert – Suz 1000) 5. Shake and Bake Racing (Dan Kowaleski, Chris Weiss, Ryan Texeira – Suz 1000) 6. Viets Performance (Harley Barnes, Billy Scott, Martin Szwarc, Craig Ayers – Suz 1000)

Endurance Overall 1. Trackside Moto (Patrick Blackburn, Cory Call – Duc 999) 2. San Jose BMW (Brian Parriott, Tom Montano – BMW 1200) 3. Queer Eye for the Fast Guys (David Bell, Peter O’Sullivan – Suz 750) 4. Leatherneck Racing (Gary Jaehne, Tom Bolles – Suz 1000) 5. Far from Pukin (Scott Wilson, James King – Suz 750) 6. Desmoto Sport (Matt Green, Lance Williams, Simon Williams – Duc 996)