By Mike Solis

In the European Motorcycle Accessories Formula Pacific race, it was former AMA 250 GP champion Chuck Sorenson who took the win, beating a slew of Suzuki GSX-R1000s on his Munroe Motors MV Agusta F4. Early in the race, defending Formula Pacific champion David Stanton looked like he had something for Sorenson, working his way into second on his Arclight Suzuki GSX-R1000 before lowsiding in Turn 11. With Stanton out, former AFM number one James Randolph moved into the second slot, with the GSX-R1000 of Pacific Tracktime’s Michael Earnest all over his back wheel. Earnest finally found his opening in the final laps of the race, slipping past Randolph to take second. Randolph crossed the line in third, riding a Pirelli-shod Cycle Pro of Santa Rosa GSX-R1000.

“The race went a lot smoother than I thought it would,” explained Sorenson. “That was quite a day! I saw the gap to second dropping on my pit board, and I thought ‘That’s gotta be Stein (Stanton), he’s coming!’ I figured he went down when I saw a big gap on my pit board, so I just put my head down and played it safe until the end.”

In the previous round, Ken Hill had one of the best club racing weekends of his career, taking victories in four different classes. His fortune took a turn for the worse this past weekend, lowsiding his Roseville Cycles CBR600RR at the front of the Keigwins@theTrack 600 Production race, in a two-bike incident that involved the Net Moto Racing R6 of young gun Bobby Fong.

Hill walked away from the incident but was unable to make the restart, leaving the race in the hands of Fong and Honda R&D’s Jeff Tigert. At the restart, it was Fong who took the early lead with the Marin Cycleworks Honda CBR600RR of Tigert in second. Towards the end of the race, Tigert took the lead from Fong with a strong move on the brakes into Turn 7, holding the lead to the checkered flag to take the win. Fong finished second, with Argentinean Supermoto champion and former World Superbike competitor Leonardo “Pucho” Bagnis in third.

“I was just being patient out there,” said Tigert. “Bobby is really good at getting on the throttle, but I was catching him on the brakes. I got a good drive out of 6, giving me the opportunity to get him on the brakes into 7. My bike is just so fast it makes my job a lot easier!”

Later in the day, Tigert went on to win the Pacific Tracktime 600 Superbike race, with Eric Gulbransen finishing second on his Munroe Motors Ducati 749. After running in second for a good portion of the race, Fong crossed the line in third for his second trophy finish of the day.

Riding his Munroe Motors Ducati 999, Gulbransen was awarded the win in the Desmoto Sport Open Twins race, after three different red flags brought the action to a close. Gulbransen also managed to take the Formula 1 win later in the day, making his way past several fast GSX-R750 riders despite a dismal grid position several rows back. Garry Combs finished second, losing the drag race to the checkered flag by 0.3 seconds.

“I was just so worried about passing 28 some odd guys from my grid position,” said Gulbransen, “but by the 2nd lap we were in the top 10. It’s a brand new bike with a stock motor today was the first time I had ridden it! The race was very smooth we got by the group quick enough so that we could work on the leaders.”

Gulbransen also spoke of his decision to run 600 Superbike and Formula 1 a change from his normal program of running only Open Twins and Formula Pacific.

“I’ve been wanting to do that class (600 Superbike) for over a year,” explained Gulbransen. “It just made sense, as we’re trying to reach another market. During the red flag, I heard one of the other riders out there say ‘Who the hell is that guy?’ It was interesting because that made the point there’s a whole new generation we can make that Ducati influence on!”

After a couple of strong performances in the Superbike events at the AMA Nationals at Infineon, David Bell managed to take the win on his Scuderia West sponsored GSX-R1000 in the Powerstands Open Grand Prix race. On the third lap, Chuck Sorensen momentarily took the lead from Bell, but a false neutral on his MV Agust coerced Sorensen into retiring from the race early. With Sorensen out, Cory Sarros went on to finish second, with former AFM number one Rob Mesa crossing the line in third.

“I had the lead at the start,” explained Bell, “but then Chuckie came around me in Turn 7 about halfway through the race. I got him back on the exit of 7 and thought he was going to come race it’s too bad that he pulled off!”

In the GP Frame and Wheel Open Superbike race, Bell came one turn short of taking his second win of the day, taking the lead from James Randolph on the last lap with a strong move on the brakes into Turn 9. Bell’s time at the front was short lived, giving the lead back to Randolph after running wide in Turn 11. Randolph won the drag race to the finish by a wheel to take the win, with Bell in second and Kim Nakashima in third.

“My pit board said I had a two second lead, so I was just cruising,” said Randolph. “Then on the last lap it was zero, and I thought ‘Uh oh!’ He passed me into 9 and I thought I’d pass him back in 11, but he went in so deep and I went in deep with him! We were both just way over the cones on the outside of the turn and it turned into a drag race to the finish, which I ended up winning.”

Despite the speed of the machines at the front of the pack and the talent of those riding them, it was eighth place finisher Brian Parriott who turned the fastest lap of the race. Riding a 2005 BMW K1200R PowerCup bike his competitors referred to as “the S.S. Parriott Land Yaught,” Parriott was able to turn a 1:39.345 just one second off of the AFM lap record of 1:38.197 held by Pacific Tracktime’s Michael Earnest.

Kim “The Flying Hawaiian” Nakashima had a busy weekend with several ups and downs, entering four different races on two different bikes. His day didn’t start so well, with a lowside in Turn 11 ending his bid for a victory in Formula 1. Nakashima rebounded in the races that followed, taking a 2nd in 750 Production, a 13th in Formula Pacific, and a 3rd in Open Superbike before wrapping the day up with a win in 750 Superbike.

“The race went well,” said Nakashima, “I just wish I could have ridden that well in the other races! After two races on the 1000, the 750 just felt so easy to ride. I definitely had motor on Robert (Campbell) he made a mistake in Turn 11 on the first lap, and I just motored by him on the exit. Matsushima Performance built my motor, and everyone is telling me how fast my bike is I can park it in the corners, and just motor out. I hope Robert doesn’t find out about him!”

Robert Campbell had a day of ups and downs as well on his Roseville Cycles GSX-R750, finishing a frustrating 5th in Formula 1 before coming back to take the win in the Suzuki of Oakland 750 Production race.

“I actually had a pretty good race,” explained Campbell, “one of the few things that went well this weekend, with all the wind and the practices as short as they were. I stayed with Kim from the start and had some fun showing him a wheel here and there. Made my move in 9, put a couple of lappers between us, and was able to bring it home!”

In the small bike classes, a number of riders continued their class domination for 2006. In the Aftershocks Suspension 250 Production class, young Michael Corbino preserved his perfect record with his third straight victory. Kurt Spencer kept his undefeated record for 2006 intact with wins in the Zoom Zoom Trackdays Formula 4 and 650 Twins classes. Craig Sanders and Shawn Herrera kept their perfect records intact as well, taking their respective victories in the 450 Production and Mazda Technologies 250 Superbike classes.

One small bike class that did see a new face at the front was Formula 3, with USGPRU regular Jon Schendel taking the win on his Roland Cushway tuned TZ125 a rare victory for a Yamaha in a class dominated by Hondas. Neves finished second, with Pilster third.

“Once I got past Carlos, I expected him to come back by,” said Schendel. “He didn’t, so I set my sights on Jay. He seemed to be having some issues, so I put a move on him going into 3, and that was it!”

The next round of AFM action takes place June 18th at Thunderhill Park.

Unofficial Results AFM Round 3 May 28, 2006 Infineon Raceway

European Motorcycle Accessories / PVM Wheels Formula Pacific 1. Chuck Sorensen (MV1000) 2. Michael Earnest (Suz 1000) 3. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 4. Jeff Tigert (Hon 1000) 5. Corey Sarros (Suz 1000) 6. Rob Mesa (Suz 1000)

GP Frame and Wheel Open Superbike 1. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 2. David Bell (Suz 1000) 3. Kim Nakashima (Suz 1000) 4. Rob Mesa (Suz 1000) 5. Corey Sarros (Suz 1000) 6. Garry Combs (Suz 1000)

750 Superbike 1. Kim Nakashima (Suz 750) 2. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 3. Robert Campbell (Suz 750) 4. Berto Wooldridge (Suz 750) 5. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) 6. Dan Sewell (Suz 750)

Pacific Tracktime 600 Superbike 1. Jeff Tigert (HOn 600) 2. Eric Gulbransen (Duc 749) 3. Bobby Fong (Yam 600) 4. Mario Bonfante (Hon 600) 5. Zenzo Tazawa (Suz 600) 6. David Glenn (Suz 600)

450 Superbike 1. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400) 2. Jose Quintanar (Yam 400) 3. Kenyon Kluge (Hon 400) 4. Michael Nishita (Yam 450) 5. Leonard Barker Jr (Kaw 500) 6. Craig Sanders (Kaw 400)

Kilowatt 250 Superbike 1. Shawn Herrera (Yam 250) 2. Andrew Duafala (Yam 250) 3. Cliff Farrar (Yam 250) 4. Johnny Radavero (Yam 250) 5. Joe Rust (Yam 250) 6. David Crone (Hon 250)

Take it 2 the Track Open Production 1. David Stanton (Suz 1000) 2. Ben Thompson (Suz 1000) 3. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 4. David Kunzelman (Suz 1000) 5. Corey Sarros (Suz 1000) 6. Andy Carman (Suz 1000)

Suzuki of Oakland 750 Production 1. Robert Campbell (Suz 750) 2. Kim Nakashima (Suz 750) 3. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 4. Berto Wooldridge (Suz 750) 5. Liko Miles (Suz 750) 6. Jeremiah Grant (Suz 750)

Keigwins@theTrack 600 Production 1. Jeff Tigert (Hon 600) 2. Bobby Fong (Yam 600) 3. Leonardo Bagnis (Yam 600) 4. Mario Bonfante (Hon 600) 5. Rick Corey (Yam 600) 6. Ryan Texeira (Kaw 600)

450 Production 1. Craig Sanders (Kaw 400) 2. Greg Becker (Hon 400) 3. David Wallis (Hon 400) 4. Zane Halvorsen (KTM 450) 5. Douglas Goldman (Yam 400) 6. Dylan Wood (Kaw 500)

Aftershocks 250 Production 1. Michael Corbino (Kaw 250) 2. Val Kotyza (Kaw 250) 3. David Crone (Hon 250) 4. Thomas Hicks (Hon 250) 5. Richard Lesher (Kaw 250) 6. Susan Urquhart (Hon 250)

PowerStands Open Grand Prix 1. David Bell (Suz 1000) 2. Corey Sarros (Suz 1000) 3. Rob Mesa (Suz 1000) 4. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 5. Mike Thompson (Yam 1000) 6. Peter Doyle (Suz 1000)

Scuderia West Formula 1 1. Eric Gulbransen (Duc 999) 2. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 3. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) 4. Jeffry Hanford (Hon 250) 5. Robert Campbell (Suz 750) 6. Dan Sewell (Suz 750)

Mazda Technologies Formula 2 1. Tyler Reiswig (Hon 250) 2. Jeffry Hanford (Hon 250) 3. Phillip Torres (Yam 250) 4. Dan Cook (Yam 250) 5. Richard Denman (Hon 250) 6. Philip Snowden (Hon 250)

Formula 3 1. Jonathan Schendel (Yam 125) 2. Carlos Neves (Hon 125) 3. Jay Pilster (Hon 125) 4. Steve Magri (Hon 125) 5. Ryan COrey (Hon 125) 6. Marcus Henderson (Hon 125)

Zoom Zoom Trackdays Formula 4 1. Kurt Spencer (Suz 650) 2. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400) 3. Thomas Dorsey (Suz 650) 4. David Civiello (Suz 650) 5. John Daker (Suz 650) 6. Jay Avansino (Suz 650)

Desmoto Sport Open Twins 1. Eric Gulbransen (Duc 999) 2. Bud Anderson (Hon 1000) 3. Craig McLean (Duc 749) 4. Patric Blackburn (Duc 998) 5. Scott Schwanbeck (Apr 1000) 6. Simon Williams (Duc 999)

650 Twins 1. Kurt Spencer (Suz 650) 2. Thomas Dorsey (Suz 650) 3. John Daker (Suz 650) 4. David Civiello (Suz 650) 5. Michael Metcalf (Kaw 650) 6. Timothy Wheeler (Suz 650)

500 Twins 1. Kevin Smith (Gib 500) 2. Jonathan Forman (Suz 500) 3. Leonard Barker Jr (Kaw 500) 4. Eric Schiller (Kaw 500) 5. Robert Clifford (Kaw 500) 6. Michael Corbin (Kaw 250)

Formula Singles 1. Gerry Piazza (Yam 660) 2. Chris Keane (Hon 450) 3. Matt Harvey (Hon 450) 4. Zane Halvorsen (KTM 450) 5. Dale Baugh (KTM 525)

Super Dinosaur 1. Neil O’Reilly (Suz 750) 2. Paul Kieffer (Suz 750) 3. Michael Nishita (Yam 450) 4. Peter Blum (Yam 400) 5. Andrew Boehm (Suz 750) 6. Robert Brown (Hon 600)

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

Clubman Heavyweight 1. Tad Koklich (Suz 1000) 2. Martin Ayala (Duc 999) 3. Ryan Gorman (Suz 996) 4. James Hendricks (Suz 1000) 5. Jeremy Breton (Yam 1000) 6. Edward Lloyd (Suz 1000)

Clubman Middleweight 1. Anthony Bernardi (Yam 600) 2. Jason Garibaldi (Suz 600) 3. Derek LaFontaine (Kaw 636) 4. Ramon Milano (Suz 600) 5. Tim Schultz (Yam 600) 6. David Wong (Hon 600)

Clubman Lightweight 1. Adam Bartlett (Suz 650) 2. William Fox (Suz 650) 3. Leonard Barker Jr (Kaw 500) 4. Bryan Heistand (SUz 650) 5. James LaBarge (Suz 650) 6. Brian Harp (Suz 650)