Editorial Note: The headline and text of this release, which was written and submitted by AFM, has been edited to correct an error in the previous version that incorrectly stated Jayson Uribe had broken the track record at Thunderhill Raceway Park. Andrew Lee is the currently official track record holder at Thunderhill, according to AFM.
The
AFM was back in action for the third round of their season June 29th and 30th
at Willows, California’s Thunderhill Raceway Park.
Jayson
Uribe continued his dominant campaign with a second hat-trick of wins. It took
near lap record pace to edge out the Graves Motorsports duo of Andrew Lee and
Valentin Debise.
For
the AFM’s first trip to Thunderhill in 2019, conditions were perfect, and the
grids were massive. Two hundred and ten riders registered to race on Sunday; a
number last exceeded over a decade ago.
Every single class saw the benefit, but the most impressive grids were
that of the 600cc classes. Multiple 600
races had north of 60 machines on the grid! Despite receiving very little love
from the manufacturers in recent years, this class is far from dead and buried,
at least not with the AFM.
At the
top of the 600 class, there was a plethora of talent; Cory Ventura, Braeden Ortt,
Deion Campbell, Brandon Crawford, and Berto Woolridge were all capable of
clicking off six fast laps and taking a win. In the first 600 battle of the
day, 600 Superbike, it would be Ventura taking the win on his R6 over Crawford
and third place man Stephen Rue. Speaking after the race Ventura was pleased
with his first win on a 600cc machine, “I have never done any hot laps
around Thunderhill on a 600, the biggest adjustment for me is how much you can
trust the R6.” Hopefully, Ventura can carry that confidence in the Yamaha
to Laguna Seca, where he will be competing with MotoAmerica in just over eight
days.
Later
in the day, the 600 Superstock race was an absolute battle. The top 3, Ortt,
Ventura and Campbell would cross the line less than .26 seconds apart after six
laps. This time it would be Ortt’s chance to stand atop the podium, with
Ventura second, and Campbell an incredibly close third. Just .004 seconds
separated Ventura and Campbell at the line. This weekend was Ortt’s first trip
out to Thunderhill, and the Canadian had a rough start to the weekend,
struggling to get comfortable on the Graves Motorsports ZX-6R before race day.
Ortt was visibly disappointed in his performance on Friday, and it was great to
hear him speak with such excitement Sunday night: “Showing up to a new
track and crashing on the first day was a tough blow for myself and the team.
However, we all worked hard throughout the weekend and finished with a race
win, which gives me great confidence going into Laguna.”
AFM
legend Berto Woolridge would also take home a 1st place trophy from
Thunderhill, sealing the weekend with a victory in Formula 1, crossing the line
first on his R6, in front of 44 other finishers.
On the
big bikes, it was a new track on a new weekend, but the story was the same.
Jayson Uribe rode his CBR1000RR to a trio of wins. But the repeat did not come
easy, Graves Motorsports were in town with reigning Superstock National
Champion, AFM number one plate holder, and current Thunderhill track record
holder, Andrew Lee joined by Valentin Debise. Debise rode for Graves last round
at Buttonwillow; however that weekend he was aboard a ZX-6R, and with a further
400cc at his disposal, he was bound to be a threat on his freshly prepared
ZX-10RR.
Uribe
came out firing on Saturday, and despite a crash in the session right before
qualifying, he put the Honda on P1 for Sunday’s Formula Pacific race. The next
day Uribe would take all three wins, with Debise second, and Lee third in the
two races they contested. The push from world-class talents like Lee and Debise
took Uribe to within one-tenth of a second of the Thunderhill Raceway Park lap
record, Uribe turned a 1:46.699, just slower than Andrew Lee’s record of
1:46.549. Despite the excellent pace, Uribe was still looking forward to faster
laps. “I can’t thank my crew enough for all the hard work they put in this
weekend! Everybody put in 100%. Their efforts allowed me to show the potential
of the Honda against some big players in the industry. I know wholeheartedly that
low 1:45s are possible…we will achieve that goal.”
With
the little bikes, it was again the Rocco Landers show, continuing his
unstoppable form for 2019, Landers took home victories in every race, finishing
in front of Marc Edwards, Brenden Ketelsen, Nikolas Thompson and Brian Bartlow
who were all showing great pace in their own right. Landers will look to
continue his run and extend his MotoAmerica Liqui Moly Junior Cup championship
lead at Laguna Seca.
The
AFM will be back in action and back at Thunderhill July 27-28.
For
updates between rounds, please follow @raceafm.
Results:
Formula 40 Heavyweight
1. George Myshlyayev (Kaw ZX-10R)
2. Eric Gulbransen (KTM 1290 Superduke)
3. Gavin Botha (Kaw)
4. Jon Delameter (Apr RSV4)
5. Eric Sterner (Yam YZF-R1)
Formula 40 Middleweight
1. Berto Wooldridge (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Stephen Rue (Hon CBR600RR)
3. Carlos Neves (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Thomas Montano (Hon CBR600RR)
5. Jon Bawden (Suz GSX-R750)
Formula 40 Lightweight
1. Aaron Tulchinsky (Yam FZ-07)
2. Ian Smith (Kaw)
3. Jesse Davis (Yam FZ-07)
4. Owen Flatley (Yam YZF-R6/450)
5. Michael Souza (Suz SV650)
400 Superstock
1. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400)
2. Marc Edwards (Kaw Ninja 400)
3. Brenden Ketelsen (Kaw Ninja 400)
4. Nikolas Thompson (Kaw Ninja 400)
5. Brian Bartlow (Kaw Ninja 400)
350 Superstock
1. Jay Kinberger (Yam YZF-R3)
2. Ashlee Deskin (Yam YZF-R3)
3. Lucky Odisetti (Yam YZF-R3)
4. Pao Vang (Yam YZF-R3)
5. Ramkumar Subramanian (Yam YZF-R3)
Afemme Lightweight
1. Shiree Cano (Kaw Ninja 300)
2. Aliki Karayan (Kaw Ninja 300)
Formula 50
1. Gavin Botha (Kaw)
2. Eric Gulbransen (KTM 1290 Superduke)
3. Carlos Neves (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Haim Beressi (Yam YZF R6)
5. Michael Kim (Yam YZF-R6)
Afemme
1. Shelina Moreda (Yam YZF-R1)
2. Valentine Welch (Suz GSX-R600/450)
3. Lexi Ferreira (Yam YZF-R6)
400 Superbike
1. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400)
2. Marc Edwards (Kaw Ninja 400)
3. Brenden Ketelsen (Kaw Ninja 400)
4. Nikolas Thompson (Kaw Ninja 400)
5. Brian Bartlow (Kaw Ninja 400)
350 Superbike
1. Ashlee Deskin (Yam YZF-R3)
2. Lucky Odisetti (Yam YZF-R3)
3. Jay Kinberger (Yam YZF-R3)
4. Joshua Ly (Yam YZF-R3)
5. Ramkumar Subramanian (Yam YZF-R3)
Legacy Lightweight
1. Jordan Edginton (Suz SV650)
2. Shane Austin (Suz SV650)
Vintage
1. Darrin Gauvin (Hon CB900F)
2. Kevin McKee (Kaw Z1)
3. CJ Bonura (Hon CB900F)
4. Terry Cheney (Hon CB900F)
5. Mark McKinney (Suz GS750E)
Open Superbike
1. Jayson Uribe (Hon CBR1000RR)
2. Valentin Debise (Kaw ZX-10R)
3. Andrew Lee (Kaw ZX-10R)
4. Deion Campbell (Kaw ZX-10R)
5. Wyatt Farris (Kaw ZX-10R)
750 Superbike
1. Berto Wooldridge (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Patrick Murphy (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Nick Lundquist (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Jake Whitcomb (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Jesse Carter (Suz GSX-R750)
Lightweight Superbike
1. Jordan Edginton (Suz SV650)
2. Aaron Tulchinsky (Yam FZ-07)
3. Martin Sullivan (Suz SV650)
4. Brandon Souza (Yam YZF-R6/450)
5. Sam Romick (Suz SV650)
Lightweight Twins
1. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400)
2. Marc Edwards (Kaw Ninja 400)
3. Brenden Ketelsen (Kaw Ninja 400)
4. Nikolas Thompson (Kaw Ninja 400)
5. Brian Bartlow (Kaw Ninja 400)
600 Superbike
1. Cory Ventura (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Brandon Crawford (Kaw ZX-6R)
3. Stephen Rue (Hon CBR600RR)
4. Samuel Gluss (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Robert Brittain (Yam YZF-R6)
Open GP
1. Jayson Uribe (Hon CBR1000RR)
2. Jordan Edginton (Yam YZF-R1)
3. Kevin Murphy (Suz GSX-R1000)
4. George Myshlyayev (Kaw ZX-10R)
5. Tyler Wolters (Kaw ZX-10R)
Open Twins
1. Eric Gulbransen (KTM 1290 Superduke)
2. Jimmy Weidman (Duc Panigale R)
3. Craig Grantham (Duc 996)
Super Dino
1. Roger Baker (Yam YZF-R1)
2. Ben Hodges (Suz GSX-R1000)
3. Stephen Dummit (Suz GSX-R1000)
4. Craig Grantham (Duc 996)
Middleweight Singles and Twins
1. Jordan Edginton (Suz SV650)
2. Jesse Davis (Yam FZ-07)
3. Sam Romick (Suz SV650)
4. Kalvin Goforth (Suz SV650)
5. Shane Austin (Suz SV650)
450 Superbike
1. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400R)
2. Brandon Souza (Yam YZF-R6/450)
3. Ian Smith (Kaw ZX-6/477)
4. Owen Flatley (Yam YZF-R6/450)
5. Paul Johnson (Yam YZF-R6/450)
Formula One
1. Berto Wooldridge (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Kaleb De Keyrel (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Samuel Gluss (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Patrick Murphy (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Nick Lundquist (Yam YZF-R6)
Formula Two
1. Roger Baker (Yam TZ250)
2. Sergio Morales Galvan (Yam TZ250)
Formula Three
1. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400)
2. Marc Edwards (Kaw Ninja 400)
3. Brenden Ketelsen (Kaw Ninja 400)
4. Nikolas Thompson (Kaw Ninja 400)
5. Brian Bartlow (Kaw Ninja 400)
Formula Four
1. Brandon Souza (Yam YZF-R6/450)
2. Martin Sullivan (Suz SV650
3. Aaron Tulchinsky (Yam FZ-07)
4. Ian Smith (Kaw ZX-6/477)
5. Owen Flatley (Yam YZF-R6/450)
Formula Pacific
1. Jayson Uribe (Hon CBR1000RR)
2. Valentin Debise (Kaw ZX-10R)
3. Andrew Lee (Kaw ZX-10R)
4. Wyatt Farris (Kaw ZX-10R)
5. Deion Campbell (Kaw ZX-10R)
450 Superstock
1. Brandon Souza (Yam YZF-R6/450)
2. Ian Smith (Kaw ZX-6/477)
3. Owen Flatley (Yam YZF-R6/450)
4. Max Sawicky (Yam YZF-R6/450)
5. Michael Welch (Kaw Ninja 400)
Calishine Ninja 400 Cup
1. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400)
2. Marc Edwards (Kaw Ninja 400)
3. Nikolas Thompson (Kaw Ninja 400)
4. Brian Bartlow (Kaw Ninja 400)
5. Paul Johnson (Kaw Ninja 400)
300 World Superstock
1. Ashlee Deskin (Yam YZF-R3)
2. Lucky Odisetti (Yam YZF-R3)
3. Joshua Ly (Yam YZF-R3)
Legacy 250
1. Jordan Edginton (Kaw Ninja 250)
2. Pao Vang (Kaw Ninja 250)
3. Soua Yang (Kaw)
600 Superstock
1. Braeden Ortt (Kaw ZX-6R)
2. Cory Ventura (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Deion Campbell (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Brandon Crawford (Kaw ZX-6R)
5. Samuel Gluss (Yam YZF-R6)
Open Superstock
1. Valentin Debise (Kaw ZX-10R)
2. Andrew Lee (Kaw ZX-10R)
3. Wyatt Farris (Kaw ZX-10R)
4. George Myshlyayev (Kaw ZX-10R)
5. Kevin Murphy (Suz GSX-R1000)
Legacy Middleweight
1. Ben Hodges (Suz GSX-R1000)
2. Jesse Carter (Suz GSX-R750)
3. Clive Savacool (Suz GSX-R750)
4. Stephen Dummit (Suz GSX-R1000)
5. Jose Flores (Suz GSX-R750)
750 Superstock
1. Kaleb De Keyrel (Yam YZF-R1)
2. Samuel Gluss (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Nick Lundquist (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Jacob Hennen (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Clive Savacool (Suz GSX-R750)
Legacy Heavyweight
1. Ben Hodges (Suz GSX-R1000)
2. Jose Flores (Suz GSX-R750)
3. Stephen Dummit (Suz GSX-R1000)