AFM Round 1 at Buttonwillow At the start of the first Formula Pacific race of the 2007 AFM season, Michael Earnest of Pacific Tracktime bolted into the early lead, gapping the field on his GSX-R1000. His impressive effort wasn’t enough to deter former AFM number one Jeff Tigert, who charged through the field after a slow start on his CBR1000RR. Tigert’s first attempt to take the lead came up short, as he was forced to roll off the throttle halfway up the front straight to keep his front tire on the ground. Undeterred, Tigert was able to make his way past and went on to take the win, as Earnest went on for a second place finish. David Bell finished third on his GSX-R1000, rounding out an all-Dunlop podium. “At the start, I had almost given up on winning,” said Tigert. “I think I was like 30th going into Turn 1 or something! Mike was riding so well at the front. He’s one of my heroes, and I think we’ve learned a lot riding with each other over the past few years. When I saw him getting away, I said, ‘Man, I’ve got to get my butt in gear!’ This John Ethel tuned motor just has so much horsepower, I feel like I’m hanging on for dear life, so I just tried to use it to my advantage. It makes my job a lot easier if I could just keep the front wheel on the ground!” There was no shortage of action in the 600cc classes, both on and off the track. Defending 600 Production and 600 Superbike champion Bobby Fong was on pole for both events, but failed to make the grid after mechanical problems in practice. In the Pacific Track Time 600 Superbike race, Jeff Tigert took the win on his new Mach 1 Motorsports CBR600RR, with WSMC number one Brant Wiwi finishing second after David Anthony was disqualified for passing under a yellow flag. Anthony was the first rider to take the checkers in the Keigwins@theTrack 600 Production race later in the day, but was again disqualified this time for an aggressive last-lap pass that forced Chris Siglin out of the lead and into the dirt. With Anthony disqualified, Tigert was awarded the win, with Richard Corey second. Siglin made his way back on track after his off-road excursion to finish third. Three different riders took victories in the three open classes. After years of riding Suzukis, former AFM number one David Stanton took the win on a new Yamaha R1 in the Take it 2 the Track Open Production race, with Martin Szwarc finishing second. Szwarc fared better in the GP Frame and Wheel Open Grand Prix race, crossing the line 9 seconds ahead of second place finisher Rob Mesa to take the win. In the Fremont Honda Kawasaki Open Superbike race, defending AFM number one James Randolph was able to take the win on his Tigershark Racing GSX-R1000, successfully coming back from a motor failure in practice earlier in the weekend. In the Suzuki of Oakland 750 Production race, Berto Wooldridge broke away from the pack early, looking like he was on his way to his first ever AFM win. Unfortunately for Wooldridge, Chris Siglin was able to make his way through the field from his fourth row start, taking the win on an R6 that he borrowed from Wooldridge, who crossed the line in second. “I saw Berto in the lead, and I was really proud of the guy it’s great to see things coming together for him,” said Siglin. “He actually bought this R6 from me last week, but since my new bikes aren’t ready yet, he was kind enough to let me run it this weekend so I could win a little money!” Former Formula Pacific podium finisher Jeff Hagan did the 650cc double, taking wins in both the Foremost Insurance 650 Twins class and the Formula 4 class on Art Chambers’ SV650. “There was a bit of mayhem at the start of both races, as it took me a few laps each time to get to the front. In 650 Twins, it looked like Raff had a straightaway lead on us. I thought to myself ‘Who is this guy? Whoever he is, he’s fast!’ I took a few laps, but I was able to reel him in and take the lead, turning a 1:55.3 in the process,” said Hagan. With defending champion Eric Gulbransen failing to make the Desmoto Sport Open Twins grid after experiencing mechanical problems on his new Ducati 1098, Tom Montano took the win on his Monroe Motors Ducati 1098S, with Ken Hill finishing second in his first ride on a 849cc Ducati 749. Despite beating a horde of fast GSX-R750s in the R Tech Fuels 750 Superbike race earlier in the day, the best Brian Parriott could do in the twins class on his San Jose BMW R1200S was a third place finish. “The new 1098 works really well, we’re just having some teething problems with the suspension,” said Montano. “Power wise, it’s great! I rode my older bike (a 999) this morning, and thought if I could just have that chassis and this motor, it’ll almost be like we’re cheating! It’s unfortunate that Gulbransen wasn’t out there, but it was great racing with Brian Parriott and with Ken on the older style bike he was faster in the fast stuff, but in the infield I could make up ground on him, and we definitely used a bit of power. It was a good ride!” In his first ride on a GSX-R1000 after years on a Honda RC-51, Bud Anderson was able to take the win in the Teresa McKinney Realtor Formula 40 race, coming out on top of a hard-fought battle with Mike Thompson. “Horsepower is a wonderful thing,” said Anderson,” and what an awesome bike that is! Trackside Moto supplied me with the new bike and tires without them, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this stuff. The horsepower on this Dan Kyle prepped bike is incredible I don’t have to ride this bike nearly as hard as the old RC, and there’s still plenty of room to grow. Mike Thompson was riding really well, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to catch him. I think he had a bobble or two, and I was able to make it happen!” The Aftershocks Suspension 250 Production class appeared to be taking on a new look, after an offseason rule change declared that 400cc Production-legal supermotos would be legal for the class. Things got even more interesting with two top 10 and one top 750 class rider on the pre-entry list, but only Tom Dorsey the number 10 plateholder for 2007 showed up on the grid, coming back from his short-lived retirement on a DRZ400SM. But when the green flag dropped, Dorsey and his supermoto had nothing for Adam Klinger, who pulled away at the front on his G-Force tuned VTR250 to take his first ever AFM win. Susan Urquhart finished second on her EX250, with Dorsey third. “That was my first time ever leading a race, and it felt strange, and I kind of didn’t know what to do without a rabbit to chase,” said Klinger. “I expected Sue to come back by me at any moment, so I never looked back, rode as fast as I could, and tried not to fall. I guess that worked, because I crossed the line with a nice lead. My first win felt great, but I didn’t expect it so soon!” Buttonwillow marked the long-awaited AFM debut of Elena Myers, who has already compiled an impressive racing resume at only 13 years of age. In Formula 3, Myers moved into the lead early and was never challenged, crossing the line on her Carlos Neves-tuned, Roadracingworld.com-sponsored Kids: Don’t Smoke! RS125 over 20 seconds ahead of second place finisher Jeffrey Lim. Myers came close to taking two wins during her debut AFM weekend, challenging veteran racer Dan Cook in the Mazda Techologies Formula 2 class as the pair struggled to make their way through Formula 40 traffic. On the final lap of the race, Myers on her RS125 took over the lead from Cook with an outside pass in Riverside, but Cook was able to strike back, taking the win on his TZ250. Myers crossed the line in second but was later disqualified for passing under a yellow flag, allowing Richard Snowden to inherit second place on his RS250. “Formula 40 is a great class and there are a lot of good riders, but they’d block me in every corner, and then just motored away!” said Cook. “We came up in some heavy traffic late in the race, and I thought to myself, ‘This is getting worse and worse by the second!’ Then the girl comes screaming around the outside of me in Riverside, and I thought ‘Oh no it’s time to get ballsy and stuff somebody!’ I made it happen, and it all worked out. Elena is a great rider, a very clean rider, and I was really impressed by her!” The next round of AFM action is schedule for Infineon Raceway on April 29th. AFM Round 1 Buttonwillow Raceway March 25, 2007 Unofficial Results MDK Motorsports Formula Pacific 1. Jeffrey Tigert (Hon 1000) 2. Michael Earnest (Suz 1000) 3. David Bell (Suz 1000) 4. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 5. Robert Mesa (Suz 1000) 6. James Randolph (Suz 1000) Fremont Honda Kawasaki Open Superbike 1. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 2. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 3. David Bell (Suz 1000) 4. Robert Mesa (Suz 1000) 5. Chuck Sorensen (MV 1000) 6. David Stanton (Yam 1000) R Tech Fuels 750 Superbike 1. Brian Parriot (BMW 1200) 2. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 3. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) 4. David Bell (Suz 750) 5. Scott Wilson (Suz 750) 6. Dan Sewell (Suz 750) Pacific Track Time 600 Superbike 1. Jeffrey Tigert (Hon 600) 2. Brant Wiwi (Yam 600) 3. Richard Corey (Yam 600) 4. Mike Shreve (Yam 600) 5. David Sadowski Jr (Yam 600) 6. Grant Riggs (Suz 600) 450 Superbike 1. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400) 2. Mark Elrod (Hon 400) 3. Bob Simmons (Hon 400) 4. Kenyon Kluge (Hon 400) 5. Jonathan Forman (Suz 500) 6. David Wallis (Hon 400) 250 Superbike 1. Andrew Duafala (Yam 250) 2. Richard Barnett (Apr 250) 3. Joe Rust (Yam 250) 4. Shawn Herrera (Yam 250) Take it 2 the Track Open Production 1. David Stanton (Yam 1000) 2. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 3. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 4. Cory Call (Kaw 1000) 5. James J. King (Suz 1000) 6. Mike Thompson (Suz 1000) Suzuki of Oakland 750 Production 1. Chris Siglin (Suz 600) 2. Berto Wooldridge (Suz 750) 3. Cory Call (Suz 750) 4. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 5. Brian Parriott (BMW 1200) 6. Scott Wilson (Suz 750) Keigwins@theTrack 600 Production 1. Jeffrey Tigert (Hon 600) 2. Richard Corey (Yam 600) 3. Chris Siglin (Suz 600) 4. Brant Wiwi (Yam 600) 6. Mike Shreve (Yam 600) 450 Production 1. Mark Elrod (Hon 400) 2. David Wallis (Hon 400) 3. Amy Hronek (Hon 400) 4. Joe King (Yam 400) 5. Kathy Kuwaye (Hon 400) 6. Scotty Storey (Hon 400) Aftershocks 250 Production 1. Adam Klinger (Hon 250) 2. Susan Urquhart (Kaw 250) 3. Thomas Dorsey (Suz 400) 4. Lisa Mazurkiewicz (Kaw 250) 5. Warren Metlitzky 6. Charles Leca (Kaw 250) GP Frame and Wheel Open Grand Prix 1. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 2. Robert Mesa (Suz 1000) 3. Andy Carman (Suz 1000) 4. Mike Thompson (Suz 1000) 5. Bud Anderson (Suz 1000) 6. Christopher Weiss (Suz 1000) Scuderia West Formula 1 1. Lenny Hale (Yam 600) 2. David Bell (Suz 750) 3. Brant Wiwi (Yam 600) 4. Cory Call (Suz 750) 5. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 6. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) Mazda Technologies Formula 2 1. Dan Cook (Yam 250) 2. Richard Snowden (Hon 250) 3. Richard Denman (Hon 250) 4. Philip Snowden (Hon 250) 5. John Fosgate (Yam 250) 6. Erik Kolstoe (Yam 250) Formula 3 1. Elena Myers (Hon 125) 2. Jeffrey Lim (Hon 125) 3. Michael Aron (Hon 125) 4. Jeremiah Carlson (Hon 125) 5. Marcus Henderson (Yam 125) 6. Elaine Ou (Hon 125) Formula 4 1. Jeff Hagan (Suz 650) 3. David Civiello (Suz 650) 4. Jay Kinberger (Suz 650) 5. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400) 6. Michael Metcalf (Kaw 650) Desmoto Sport Open Twins 1. Thomas Montano (Duc 1098) 2. Ken Hill (Duc 749/849) 3. Brian Parriott (BMW 1200) 4. Craig McLean (Duc 1098) 5. Matthew Green (Duc 999) 6. Patrick Blackburn (Duc 998) Foremost Insurance 650 Twins 1. Jeff Hagan (Suz 650) 2. David Raff (Suz 650) 3. Aaron Tulchinsky (Suz 650) 4. Jay Avansino (Suz 650) 5. Jay Kinberger (Suz 650) 6. William Fox (Suz 650) 500 Twins 1. Jonathan Forman (Suz 500) 2. Leonard Barker Jr. (Kaw 500) 3. Eric Schiller (Kaw 500) 4. Michael Emmons (Kaw 500) 5. Warren Metlitzky (Kaw 250) 6. Eric Markham (Kaw 250) Teresa McKinney Realtor Formula 40 1. Bud Anderson (Suz 1000) 2. Mike Thompson (Suz 1000) 3. John Turmell (Suz 1000) 4. Jeff Gruetter (Hon 1000) 5. Spencer Stuart (Yam 600) 6. Jeff Hagan (Suz 650) Super Dinosaur 1. David Crussel (Kaw 748) 2. Paul Kieffer (Suz 750) 3. Noe Pulido (Yam 400) 4. Charles Leca (Yam 600)