By Mike Solis

AFM Round 2 at Infineon Raceway

As the green flag dropped in the MDK Motorsports Formula Pacific race at Infineon Raceway, it was Pacific Tracktime’s Michael Earnest who took the early lead on his GSX-R1000, leading a ten-rider freight train that broke away at the front of the field. Within two laps, David Stanton put his Mach 1 Motorsports R1 past Earnest to take the lead, while Honda R&D’s Jeff Tigert made his way through the field on his rocket-fast CBR1000RR after yet another slow start.

By the halfway point, Tigert was able to take the lead from Stanton with a strong move on the brakes into Turn 9. Tigert’s lead was short lived, as he lowsided just one lap later on the brakes in Turn 11, putting Stanton back in the number one spot. Tigert wasn’t the only front runner to have problems on the brakes, as David Bell lowsided out of second place on the brakes in Turn 9 on lap seven. One lap later, Rob Mesa lowsided out of fourth place in Turn 11 an uncharacteristic move for the two-time AFM number one known for his consistency.

At the checkered flag, it was Stanton who took the win his first Formula Pacific victory on a Yamaha. Defending AFM number one James Randolph crossed the line in second on his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000, with Michael Earnest in third.

“If you asked me yesterday if I thought I’d be up here, I would have said no way I couldn’t hit my butt with both hands yesterday, and that’s no joke!” said Stanton. “The race started off fast, Michael got a great start, and I knew I had to go as fast as I could because Jeff and James were behind me. Finally Jeff came by and I thought I’d try and hang with him, and all of a sudden he was on the ground. It all seemed to happen in slow motion suddenly I was in the lead, I couldn’t believe it! KC at BRG tuned this thing; it’s awesome and super fast!”

Despite crashing out of the lead of the Formula Pacific race, Tigert still had a fairly successfully weekend, taking the win in the Keigwins@thetrack 600 Production race over second place finisher Kenny Carlotta, who scored a 10th place finish in the Formula Xtreme race at Fontana just one day earlier on his Net Moto Racing GSX-R600. Later in the day, Tigert took his second win of the day in the Pacific Track Time 600 Superbike race, with Carlotta’s team mate Richard Corey finishing second on his Net Moto Racing R6.

“I just felt really strong all weekend,” said Tigert. “That one lap in 600 Superbike, when I went straight through the chicane, it felt like my back wheel was about four feet of the ground when I was on the brakes! I feel like I have even more in me, and can’t wait to see how I match up with the AMA guys when they come here in a few weeks.”

Jeff Hagan continued his run of success, winning the Foremost Insurance 650 Twins race and the Race-Oil.com Formula 4 race on his Bridgestone-shod Art Chambers-sponsored SV650. Hagan who finished on the Formula Pacific podium in the late 90s had some impressive runs against bigger bikes in his two other races, finishing 2nd in Formula 40 and 12th in 600 Superbike.

“It was my first weekend on Bridgestones, and I ran half of Friday practice, all Saturday, and all Sunday on the same set of tires,” said Hagan. “Between both of my wins and my good finishes in Formula 40 and 600 Superbike, it was a good weekend!

James Randolph had a good weekend on his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000, taking wins in the Take It 2 The Track Open Production Race and the Fremont Honda Kawasaki Open Superbike race. In both races, David Stanton finished second with Martin Szwarc third.

“I have to thank Kenny Norman for helping me out this weekend,” said Randolph. “We worked some late hours getting things ready. We built one new motorcycle, and rebuilt the one that the motor broke in (at Buttonwillow). I have to thank Ron’s Performance and Santa Rosa Superbikes also for all their help it’s a long story and both deserve thanks.”

In the Suzuki of Oakland 750 Production race, Scott Wilson took the win on his Foremost Insurance GSX-R750, coming out on top of a race-long battle with the GSX-R750 of Cory Call, the winner of the Scuderia West Formula 1 race earlier in the day.

“I thought I had the holeshot when Kenny Carlotta came by me on a 600 I couldn’t believe it!” explained Wilson. “I outbraked Carlotta going into 9 and just parked it to take the lead. After that, Cory and I were dicing it up good, it was a great race. I have to thank my mechanic Chad Green he helped me make a bunch of changes before the race. We kind of rolled the dice with the setup, and it came out great!”

Steve Magri took the lead early in the Formula 3 race, doing his best to stay clear of an exciting four-rider battle for second between Mojotown’s Michael Aron, Jeffrey Lim, Debra Barton, and Jeremiah Carlson. At the checkered flag, Magri crossed the line to take his first AFM victory, with Aron second, and Lim third. All of the top three finishers were on Honda RS125s.

“I knew I had to try and check out after the second lap, since I knew there were a couple others who could go my pace,” said Magri. “I just rode hard, and got a little excited in the end when I blew Turn 9, but I managed to recover and didn’t look back. I have to thank Wil Morton and Roland Cushway for their help this is my first win in over four years of AFM racing!”

After starting the season with a trip to Daytona where he qualified for the AMA Supersport and Formula Xtreme classes, Spencer Stuart took his best AFM finish ever at Infineon, winning the Teresa McKinney Realtor Formula 40 race on his Factory Pro Tuning YZF-R6. Jeff Hagan finished second on his SV650, with Mike Thompson in third on his GSX-R1000.

“I got kind of a bad start and saw seven or eight guys in front of me, but they didn’t seem to be going that quick,” said Stuart. “I had a brand new tire from Alex at Michelin and it was working really, really well. I remember making it by Anderson, then Hagan, who I guess used to be a top 10 guy – man, he rides the hell out of that little SV! Once I was in the lead, I tried to just focus and stay consistent I was loving every minute of it!”

One of the most entertaining races of the day came from the 250 Production class, which saw crowd favorite Susan Urquhart crashing out in Turn 9 early, with points leader Adam Klinger crashing out in Turn 11 a few laps later. On the last lap, Warren Metlitzky appeared to be on his way to his first ever AFM win when his exhaust pipe fell off, prompting him to withdraw from the race. Metlitzky’s withdrawal put Charles Leca in the lead, giving him his own change at his first AFM win, but a bad line through the Turn 9 chicane gave allowed AFM veteran Tom Dorsey to take the lead. Dorsey went on to take the win on his DRZ400 Supermoto, with Leca and Lisa Mazurkiewicz crossing the line in second and third respectively to take their first ever AFM top three trophies.

“It was fun, this bike is just really silly and completely stock,” said Dorsey, the number ten plate holder for 2007. “On the last lap, I was looking at Warren in the lead when his pipe fell off! All I could think was ‘Poor kid, he was just about to win!’ After I saw Charles run wide though the grease sweep, I knew I had it. That was the slowest race win I ever had!”

The next round of the 2007 AFM championship is scheduled to take place at Infineon Raceway on May 27th.

AFM Round 2 Infineon Raceway April 29, 2007 Unofficial Results

MDK Motorsports Formula Pacific 1. David Stanton (Yam YZF-R1) 2. James Randolph (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Michael Earnest (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Cory Call (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Thomas Montano (Duc 1098) 6. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000)

Fremont Honda Kawasaki Open Superbike 1. James Randolph (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. David Stanton (Yam YZF-R1) 3. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. David Bell (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Thomas Montano (Duc 1098) 6. Robert Mesa (Suz GSX-R1000)

R Tech Fuels 750 Superbike 1. Garry Combs (Suz GSX-R750) 2. Scott Wilson (Suz GSX-R750) 3. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz GSX-R750) 4. Ryan Gorman (Suz GSX-R750) 5. Kim Nakashima (Suz GSX-R750) 6. Craig Weirman (Suz GSX-R750)

Pacific Track Time 600 Superbike 1. Jeffrey Tigert (Hon CBR600RR) 2. Richard Corey (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Brant Wiwi (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Matt Eccleston (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Stuart Spencer (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Neil O’Reilly (Suz GSX-R600)

Alpine RV 450 Superbike 1. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400) 2. Richard Moore (Yam 442) 3. Mark Elrod (Hon 400) 4. Craig Sanders (Kaw 400) 5. Gordon Johnson (Kaw 400) 6. Kenyon Kluge (Hon 400)

250 Superbike 1. Andrew Duafala (Yam 250) 2. Joe Rust (Yam 250) 3. Steve Mandeville (Yam 250) 4. Airon Gauff (Yam 250) 5. Jason Duggin Suz 400)

Take it 2 the Track Open Production 1. James Randolph (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. David Stanton (Yam YZF-R1) 3. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. James J. King (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Garry Combs (Suz GSX-R1000) 6. Mike Sullivan (Yam YZF-R1)

Suzuki of Oakland 750 Production 1. Scott Wilson (Suz GSX-R750) 2. Cory Call (Suz GSX-R750) 3. Kenny Carlotta (Suz GSX-R600) 4. Garry Combs (Suz GSX-R750) 5. Berto Wooldridge (Suz GSX-R750) 6. Kim Nakashima (Suz GSX-R750)

Keigwins@theTrack 600 Production 1. Jeffrey Tigert (Hon CBR600RR) 2. Kenny Carlotta (Suz GSX-R600) 3. Richard Corey (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Brant Wiwi (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Leonardo Bagnis (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Jeff Gagne (Yam YZF-R6) 

450 Production 1. Mark Elrod (Hon 400) 2. Craig Sanders (Kaw 400) 3. Gordon Johnson (Kaw 400) 4. David Wallis (Hon 400) 5. Joe King (Yam 400) 6. Kathy Kuwaye (Hon 400)

250 Production 1. Tom Dorsey (Suz 400) 2. Charles Leca (Kaw 250) 3. Lisa Mazukiewicz (Kaw 250) 4. Michael Chip Jones (Suz 400) 5. Norman Smith (Kaw 250) 6. Jack Walshe (Hon 250)

GP Frame and Wheel Open Grand Prix 1. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Andy Carman (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Robert Mesa (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Mike Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Christopher Weiss (Suz GSX-R1000) 6. Shawnery Hardin (Suz GSX-R1000) 

Scuderia West Formula 1: 1. Cory Call (Suz GSX-R750) 2. David Bell (Suz GSX-R750) 3. Scott Wilson (Suz GSX-R750) 4. Garry Combs (Suz GSX-R750) 5. Brant Wiwi (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz GSX-R750)

Mazda Technologies Formula 2 1. Jeffry Hanford (Hon RS250) 2. Dan Cook (Yam TZ250) 3. Dante D’Ambruoso (Yam TZ250) 4. Richard Denman (Hon RS250) 5. Brian Hoffman (Hon RS250) 6. Shawn Herrera (Yam TZ250) 

Formula 3 1. Steve Magri (Hon RS125) 2. Michael Aron (Hon RS125) 3. Jeffrey Lim (Hon RS125) 4. Debra Barton (Hon RS125) 5. Jeremiah Carlson (Hon RS125) 6. Phillip Krenn (Hon RS125)

Race-Oil.com / AMSOIL Formula 4 1. Jeff Hagan (Suz SV650) 2. David Civiello (Suz SV650) 3. Jay Kinberger (Suz SV650) 4. Dan Sewell (Suz SV650) 5. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400) 6. Brian Harp (Suz SV650)

Desmoto Sport Open Twins 1. Thomas Montano (Duc 1098) 2. Craig McLean (Duc 999) 3. Patrick Blackburn (Duc 999) 4. Matthew Green (Duc 999) 5. Jeff Hagan (Suz SV650) 6. Simon Williams (Duc 999)

Foremost Insurance 650 Twins 1. Jeff Hagan (Suz SV650) 2. Aaron Tulchinsky (Suz SV650) 3. Jay Avansino (Suz SV650) 4. Dan Sewell (Suz SV650) 5. David Civiello (Suz SV650) 6. William Fox (Suz SV650)

500 Twins 1. Jonathan Forman (Suz 500) 2. Leonard Barker Jr (Kaw 500) 3. Eric Schiller (Kaw 500) 4. Michael Emmons (Kaw 500) 5. Norman Smith (Kaw 250) 6. Daniel Lucero (Kaw 250)

Formula Singles 1. Brandon Merkel (Suz 400) 2. Clay Hassinger (ATK 598)

Teresa McKinney Realtor Formula 40 1. Spencer Stuart (Yam YZF-R6) 2. Jeff Hagan (Suz SV650) 3. Mike Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Bud Anderson (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. William Bouch (Suz GSX-R1000) 6. Jeff Gruetter (Hon CBR1000RR)

Super Dinosaur 1. Paul Kieffer (Suz 750) 2. Charles Leca (Yam 600)

Clubman Heavyweight 1. Carl Thompson (Suz 1000) 2. Blaise Camp (Suz 750) 3. Gabriel Coloma (Hon 1000) 4. Dave Zavatson (Suz 750) 5. Jacob Fisher (Suz 1000) 6. Vincent Cianci (Suz 1000)

Clubman Middleweight 1. Blaise Camp (Suz 750) 2. Sebastiao Ferreira (Suz 600) 3. Dave Zavatson (Suz 750) 4. Tim Hansen (Suz 750) 5. Steven Beltran (Suz 750) 6. Dan Votino (Kaw 599)

Clubman Lightweight 1. Oliver Rowen (Suz 650) 2. Greg McCullough (Suz 650) 3. Allen Erkman (Suz 650) 4. Marcus Worsley (Suz 650) 5. Rick Ford (Suz 650) 6. Jason Lauritzen (Suz 650)