In one of the most impressive rides of his career, two-time AFM champion Rob Mesa found his way back to the top step of the featured Formula Pacific podium on his G-Force Performance Suzuki GSX-R1000 during the AFM season opener at Buttonwillow Sunday. Ken Hill led early on his Dan Kyle tuned Suzuki GSX-R1000, as defending Champion Jeff Tigert crashed out of the race with a vicious highside in Turn 4 a few laps into the race. Mesa made his way past Hill in Turn 9 and held the lead to the checkered flag to take the win, with James Randolph taking second after forcing his way past Hill in the narrow infield. David Stanton took third on his Arclight Racing GSX-R1000, barely beating Hill to the line.

Tigert fared better earlier in the day in the 600 Superbike race, charging from a ninth row grid position into second before a red flag brought the race to a close. The finishing order was taken from the last completed lap, relegating Tigert and his Honda CBR600RR to third. Chris Siglin was awarded the win, with Andy Carman a distant second after challenging Siglin for the first three laps. Siglin and Carman were both on Yamaha R6s.

600 Production was almost a repeat of 600 Superbike, with holeshot-master Siglin barely beating Carman into Turn 1 at the start. Carman, in his first ride on a new R6 after years on a dated Honda, was glued once again to Siglin’s rear wheel for the first half of the race, eventually dropping off the pace to finish a safe second.

Despite a poor grid position, Siglin shot into the lead early and never looked back in the Open Production race, his first race on a new Yamaha R1. James Randolph, also hunting Yamaha contingency money on a new R1, worked his way through the pack when a crash involving David Robinson, “Wild” Bill Fordyce, and another rider brought the race to a halt. Siglin was awarded the win, with Randolph second and Matt Harvey third on a Werkstatt-tuned GSX-R1000.

After retiring from AFM Tech Inspection, former 250 Production champion Tom Dorsey was able to once again focus on his racing effort, taking the win in 250 Superbike on his Aprilia RS250 over the TZR250 of Tommy Okihura. Tom’s victory came immediately after the 650 Twins race, which saw him in the early lead before dropping back to eventually finish fifth.

Winning the 650 Twins race was Spears Racing’s Brian Long, despite a fuelling problem that prevented his SV650 from working at full throttle. Felipe Cabezas, the AFM’s Top Novice of 2003, inherited the lead when Long’s SV650 began encountering problems. Cabezas gave the lead right back to Long by crashing out in Turn 2, succumbing to the pressure of having a multi-time CCS Number One plate-holder behind him. Long went on to take the win, with the Jason Butler finishing second on his Q-Café Suzuki SV650 despite crashing earlier in the day in the 600 Superbike race.

Long also had a strong performance in the first-ever running of Formula 4, which allows 4-stroke Twins up to 650ccs, 4-stroke Inline Fours up to 550ccs, street-based 2-strokes up to 250ccs, and any four-stroke Singles. Without the rumored/controversial R5.5 (a destroked 2003 R6 built to meet the 550cc class limit) of Ross Wells on the grid, Kurt Spencer was able to take the early lead on his Twin Works Factory SV650. With his fuelling system once again fully operational, Long made his way past Spencer to take the lead, with Mike Lohmeyer in his shadow on his G-Force tuned VFR450. Lohmeyer challenged Long on the last lap but was unable to take the lead, allowing Long to take his second win of the day. Lohmeyer, who won the 450 Superbike race earlier in the day, finished a strong second with Felipe Cabezas third.

Long was also awarded the win in Open Twins, after managing a photo-finish with Michelin tire distributor Alex Florea. Long’s win was his first on a new Suzuki SV1000.

Despite an exciting raceday with many fine performances by many talented individuals, many AFMers left Buttonwillow with a great deal of concern for the well-being of “Wild” Bill Fordyce, who was transported from the track with serious injuries after crashing in the 750 Superbike race.

Unofficial Results of AFM Round 1 Buttonwillow Raceway, Buttonwillow, California March 28, 2004

Max Moto Open Twins 1. Brian Long (Suz 1000) 2. Alex Florea (Hon 1000) 3. Steve Engelbrecht (Apr 1000) 4. Conrad Price (Duc 996) 5. Knut Wagner (Duc 996) 6. Bud Anderson (Hon 1000)

G-Force 450 Superbike 1. Mike Lohmeyer (Hon 450) 2. Ross Wells (Yam 400) 3. Tim Wheeler (Kaw 400) 4. Paul Yoshimune (Hon 400) 5. Robert Gardiner (Yam 400) 6. Ed Yoast (Yam 400)

Aftershocks 250 Production 1. Jay Kinberger (Kaw 250) 2. Yoav Damti (Kaw 250) 3. Vlastimil Kotyza (Kaw 250) 4. Rick Cramer (Kaw 250) 5. Jayce Bell (Hon 250)

Formula Singles 1. Ben Welch (Yam 426) 2. Chris Keane (Hon 500) 3. Richard Capps (Yam 600) 4. Jeff Schnapp (Yam 727) 5. Scott Anderson (Yam 426) 6. David Jevans (Yam 600)

500 Twins 1. Bobby Lee Broussard (Suz 500) 2. Jon Forman (Suz 400) 3. Boris Clifford (Kaw 500) 4. Joe Sickle (Suz 400) 5. Brent Allen (Kaw 500) 6. Mickey Fimbres (Kaw 500)

Formula 2 1. Ed Marchini (Yam 250) 2. Jeff Beck (Hon 250) 3. Michael Aron (Yam 250) 4. Kelly Winklebauer (Yam 250) 5. Phil Torres (Yam 250) 6. Will Morton (Hon 125)

450 Production 1. Ross Wells (Yam 400) 2. Eddie Lee (Yam 400) 3. Ed Yoast (Yam 400) 4. Robert Gardiner (Yam 400) 5. Dave Norgard (Yam 400) 6. Douglas Goldman (Yam 400)

Pacific Track Time 600 Superbike 1. Chris Siglin (Yam 600) 2. Andy Carman (Yam 600) 3. Jeff Tigert (Hon 600) 4. Brien Whitlock (Suz 600) 5. Garth Dillon (Yam 600) 6. Grant Riggs (Yam 600)

Open Production 1. Chris Siglin (Yam 1000) 2. James Randolph (Yam 1000) 3. Matt Harvey (Suz 1000) 4. Bryan Londo (Suz 1000) 5. James King (Suz 1000) 6. Peter Doyle (Suz 1000)

750 Superbike 1. David Stanton (Suz 750) 2. David White (Suz 750) 3. Ken Hill (Kaw 636) 4. Jon Bawden (Suz 750) 5. Robert Kennedy (Suz 750) 6. Ryan Texeira (Kaw 636)

650 Twins 1. Brian Long (Suz 650) 2. Jason Butler (Suz 650) 3. Kurt Spencer (Suz 650) 4. Ray Soto (Suz 750) 5. Tom Dorsey (Suz 650) 6. John Daker (Suz 650)

Open Grand Prix 1. Rob Mesa (Suz 1000) 2. David Kunzelman (Suz 1000) 3. Mark Foster (Suz 1000) 4. Gary Combs (Suz 1000) 5. Mike Raab (Suz 1000) 6. Mark Smith (Suz 1000)

Formula 3 1. William Morton (Hon 125) 2. Michael Jarrard (Hon 125) 3. Dave Hendricks (Hon 125) 4. Larry Devore (Yam 125) 5. James Smith (Hon 125) 6. Scott Anderson (Hon 125)

250 Superbike 1. Tom Dorsey (Apr 250) 2. Tommy Okihura (Yam 250) 3. Dylan Benjamin (Hon 250) 4. Bart Anderson (Apr 250) 5. Dan Johnson (Apr 250) 6. James Kline (Apr 250)

Formula Pacific 1. Rob Mesa (Suz 1000) 2. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 3. Ken Hill (Suz 1000) 4. David Stanton (Suz 1000) 5. Mike Raab (Suz 1000) 6. Mark Foster (Suz 1000)

Formula 4 1. Brian Long 2. Mike Lohmeyer 3. Felipe Cabezas 4. Jason Butler 5. Michael Metcalf 6. Ross Wells

Super Dinosaur 1. Rick Williams (Suz 750) 2. Ross Schlichting (Suz 1100) 3. Robert Blum (Hon 750)

600 Production 1. Chris Siglin (Yam 600) 2. Andy Carman (Yam 600) 3. Doug Venezia (Yam 600) 4. Aaron Coulson (Suz 600) 5. Grant Riggs (Yam 600) 6. Brian Bartlow (Hon 600)

Open Superbike 1. David Stanton (Suz 1000) 2. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 3. Mike Raab (Suz 1000) 4. Rob Mesa (Suz 1000) 5. David Kunzelman (Suz 1000) 6. Mark Foster (Suz 1000)

Formula 1 1. Jon Bawden (Suz 750) 2. Brien Whitlock (Suz 600) 3. Steve Engelbrecht (Apr 1000) 4. Garth Dillon (Yam 600) 5. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 6. Bryan Edginton (Suz 750)