From a press release issued by Mike Solis for the AFM:

AFM Round 1 at Buttonwillow

In the first round of the 2008 AFM championship at Buttonwillow Raceway, Star Motorcycle School owner Jason Pridmore emerged from retirement on a Dunlop-shod Jordan Motorsports Suzuki to take the win in the Kal-Gard Formula Pacific race. Despite a talented field that included top AMA Supersport privateer David Anthony, former WMRRA number one Mike Sullivan and ex-World Superbike rider Leonardo Bagnis, the AFM’s top regulars still managed to claim the remaining two podium positions, with James Randolph finishing second, and Cory Call third.

“The day was great, with the exception of a little screw up we had this morning,” said Pridmore, a two-time AMA national champion. “In the Production race, my bike overheated on the grid and we had water dripping into the bellypan. When I got into Turn 2, I just fell over I had to redeem myself in Formula Pacific! Racing with the AFM has been super and everyone has really welcomed me here. I just wanted to come here, test a little for the World Endurance Race at Le Mans, and have a fun day – it just so turned out that the fun was at the front!”

Second place finisher James Randolph put in an impressive ride on his Pirelli-shod Cycle Imports Suzuki, staying close to Pridmore and keeping him honest after being passed for the lead in Lost Hills.

“I could see Pridmore coming,” said Randolph. “Once he came past, I was able to stay with him I just waited for him to make a mistake. His bike was moving around in a couple of places I thought if I stayed there I could maybe capitalize on it. I went over two seconds a lap faster than I’ve ever gone here, which is a major improvement I’m pretty happy with that!”

Third place went to Pacific Track Time’s Cory Call, who showed plenty of optimism for the 2008 season after a promising first ride on a new MDK Motorsports Suzuki.

“I just got this bike last week, and haven’t had time to take it apart yet I guess you could say I was breaking in it!” said Call. “With the Dunlop tires and the Dan Kyle suspension, it’s definitely one of the best handling bikes I’ve ever had. As soon as we get a little more motor out of it I think we’ll have a good season.”

There was plenty of action in the 600 classes as well, as Honda R&D test rider Jeff Tigert showed up the morning of the race to take the win in the Pacific Track Time 600 Superbike race. Riding a Dunlop-shod Honda CBR600RR, Tigert successfully escaped the charge of up-and-comer Garrett Willis before taking the lead from former WSMC number one Brant Wiwi.

“I was too scared to look back once I got in front,” said Tigert, “I just assumed Brant and Garrett would be right there! It turned out I did some 48s, which I thought was pretty good considering how much trouble I was having this morning.”

After his third place finish behind Wiwi and Tigert in the 600 Superbike race, Willis found some extra speed on his Pirelli-shod Mach 1 Motorsports CBR600RR to take the Keigwins@theTrack 600 Production win. Tigert finished second, with David Anthony third.

“The bike was a little off in the Superbike race earlier in the day,” explained Willis, a Keigwins@theTrack sponsored rider and student of the Doug Chandler Champ Racing School. “We were able to use the FP race to get it dialed in, so we just went for it in Production and it all worked out!”

The next round of the 2008 AFM Championship is scheduled to take place at Infineon Raceway on April 26th and 27th at Infineon Raceway.

AFM Round 1 March 22-23, 2007 Buttonwillow Raceway Unofficial Results

Kal-Gard Formula Pacific 1. Jason Pridmore (Suz 1000) 2. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 3. Cory Call (Suz 1000) 4. David Stanton (Yam 1000) 5. Michael Earnest (Suz 1000) 6. Corey Sarros (Suz 1000)

Open Superbike 1. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 2. Cory Call (Suz 1000) 3. David Stanton (Yam 1000) 4. David Bell (Suz 1000) 5. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 6. Corey Sarros (Suz 1000)

R Tech Racing Fuels 750 Superbike 1. Gregory Grouleff Jr (Suz 750) 2. Lenny Hale (Yam 600) 3. Billy Scott (Yam 600) 4. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) 5. Neil O’Reilly (Suz 600) 6. Liko Miles (Suz 750)

Pacific Track Time 600 Superbike 1. Jeffrey Tigert (Hon 600) 2. Brant Wiwi (Yam 600) 3. Garrett Willis (Hon 600) 4. Gregory Grouleff Jr (Suz 600) 5. Lenny Hale (Yam 600) 6. Jimmy Wood (Yam 600)

Alpine RV 450 Superbike 1. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400) 2. Mark Elrod (Hon 400) 3. Jonathan Forman (Suz 500) 4. Vlastimil Kotyza (Yam 400) 5. Erick Crabtree (Yam 400) 6. David Wallis (Hon 400)

250 Superbike 1. Joe Rust (Yam 250) 2. Martin Ayala (Hus) 3. Brendan Hanley (Suz 398)

The Track Club Open Production 1. Cory Call (Suz 1000) 2. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 3. Leonardo Bagnis (Suz 1000) 4. David Stanton (Yam 1000) 5. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 6. David Anthony (Suz 1000)

750 Production 1. David Anthony (Suz 600) 2. Chad Lewin (Suz 600) 3. Gregory Grouleff Jr (Suz 750) 4. Christopher Clark (Yam 600) 5. Liko Miles (Suz 750) 6. Blaise Camp (Suz 750)

650 Production Twins 1. David Raff (Suz 650) 2. Allen Erkman (Suz 650) 3. Mark Elrod (Hon 400) 4. Alex Florea (Suz 650) 5. Andrew Silva (Hon) 6. Ari Henning (Suz 650)

Keigwin@theTrack 600 Production 1. Garrett Willis (Hon 600) 2. Jeffrey Tigert (Hon 600) 3. David Anthony (Suz 600) 4. Brant Wiwi (Yam 600) 5. Lenny Hale (Yam 600) 6. Jimmy Wood (Yam 600)

250 Production 1. Lisa Mazurkiewicz (Kaw 250) 2. Daniel Lucero (Kaw 250) 3. Chris Botha (Kaw 250) 4. Brendan Hanley (Suz 400) 5. Russell Munn (Suz 400) 6. Shandra Crawford (HYO 250)

GP Frame and Wheel Open Grand Prix 1. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 2. David Bell (Suz 1000) 3. Mike Thompson (Suz 1000) 4. Corey Sarros (Suz 1000) 5. Scott Wilson (Suz 1000) 6. Justin Mastalka (Suz 1000)

Scuderia West Formula 1 1. Lenny Hale (Yam 600) 2. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) 3. Neil Reilly (Suz 600) 4. Gabriel San Coloma (Suz 600) 5. Liko Miles (Suz 750) 6. Billy Scott (Yam 600)

Formula 2 1. Rob Drury (Yam 250) 2. Michael Altamirano (Yam 250) 3. Kelly Winkelbauer (Yam 250) 4. Marcuz Henderson (Hon 125) 5. Erik Kolstoe (Yam 250) 6. John Fosgate (Yam 250)

Formula 3 1. Phillip Krenn (Hon 125) 2. Kevin Murray (Yam 125) 3. Gwyn Lewis (Hon 125)

Race-Oil.com Formula 4 1. Dan Sewell (Suz 650) 2. William Fox (Suz 650) 3. Brian Harp (Suz 650) 4. Scott Lesniewski (Suz 650) 5. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400) 6. Rick Ford (Suz 650)

Desmoto Sport Open Twins 1. Thomas Montano (Duc 1098) 2. Matthew Green (Duc 749) 3. Scott Schwanbeck (Duc 749) 4. Mario Gonzales Jr (Duc 1098) 5. Steve Metz (Duc 749) 6. Brian Parriott (BMW 1170)

650 Twins 1. William Fox (Suz 650) 2. Brian Harp (Suz 650) 3. Dan Sewell (Suz 650) 4. Jason Lauritzen (Suz 650) 5. Scott Liesniewski (Suz 650) 6. Rick Ford (Suz 650)

500 Twins 1. Jonathan Forman (suz 500) 2. Robert Clifford (Kaw 500) 3. Eric Schiller (Kaw 500) 4. Daniel Lucero (Kaw 250) 5. Russell Aldinger (Kaw 500)

Formula Singles 1. Jim Hoogerhyde (Hon) 2. Martin Ayala (Hus) 3. Edward Lloyd (Hus) 4. Michael Altamirano (KTM) 5. Kristy Miller (Hon 450) 6. Clay Hassinger (ATK)

Super Dinosaur 1. Michael Boyer (Hon) 2. Michael Nishita (Yam) 3. Mark Woodlief (Yam) 4. Erick Crabtree (Yam) 5. Guy Hyder (Hon) 6. Noe Pulido (Yam)

Teresa McKinney Realtor Formula 40 1. Ken Hill (Suz 1000) 2. Mike Thompson (Suz 1000) 3. Jeff Hagan (Suz 1000) 4. Rick McDaniel (Suz 1000) 5. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) 6. Jeff Smith (Suz 1000)

Clubman Heavyweight 1. Justin Givens (Suz 1000) 2. Dominique Ruangnol (Suz 1000) 3. Bob Pilgreen (Hon 1000) 4. Jerome Slayton (Kaw 1000) 5. Michael Kellough (Yam 600) 6. David Mothershead (Hon 1000)

Clubman Middleweight 1. Regis Bectarte (Suz 749) 2. Jeremy Cleland (Yam 600) 3. Jacob Albrecht (Kaw 600) 4. Michael Smith (Suz 750) 5. Michael Kellough (Yam 600) 6. Gavin Botha (Kaw 600)

Clubman Lightweight 1. Chase McFarland (Suz 650) 2. Ricky Brown (Suz 650) 3. Mike Keeler 4. James Barker (Suz 650) 5. Brian Paoletti (Suz 650) 6. James Stewart

More, from a press release issued by Garrett Willis’ publicist:

Garrett Willis Starts Strong in Opening Rounds of 08 WERA and AFM Series

After his triple race wins at the opening round of the WERA West Series at the California Speedway in Fontana California on January 13th Garrett Willis backed up that performance with a podium finish and a convincing race win at the AFM season opener at Buttonwillow Raceway Park on Sunday March 23rd in Buttonwillow California.

In his first race of the day in the 600 Superbike class the 17 year-old Honda supported speedster got off to a fifth place start. He made two first lap passes to reach the leaders and then went to work trying to get around fellow Honda rider Jeff Tigert who was in second place. Willis made a small mistake while pressuring Tigert and lost some time but he recovered and set out to catch back up to the leaders who were running a quick pace at the front. Garrett was able to close up a considerable amount of the gap but it wasn’t enough to be in a position for a pass and he finished the race in 3rd place. His next start was in the Formula Pacific class where he lined up his CBR600RR in the 27th position on the last row of the grid in a field filled with 1000cc machines. Willis was passing quickly and moved forward a lot of positions in the eight lap race and ultimately finished in 11th. Throughout the first two races he gained valuable set-up information and time on the track, which he put to work in his final start of the day in the 600 Production class. This race would see a rematch with the same two riders who finished in front of him in the earlier 600 Superbike class. Looking to improve his results from the first outing Garrett came off the start line with a great start and he was in 3rd position after the first turn. He went on to pass Brant Wiwi for 2nd place and then pushed to catch up to race leader Jeff Tigert before he could open up a big lead. Tigert was determined to keep Garrett from passing but Willis rode a patient and pressuring pace, then went for the pass on the fourth lap in the West Loop portion of the track and made it stick. He held off Tigert’s charges and proceeded to build up a lead and held on to it all the way to the checkers for a win.

Post race an ecstatic Willis said “Today was another great learning experience and I was happy to progress on my bike set up and riding technique. After the first race I knew I could improve on my results and I had a lot of help from my team and my family to help me get the bike working well and it all paid off in the last race. I especially want to thank my family and my mechanics Dave and Ray for coming out and spending a holiday at the racetrack. Without their support my racing wouldn’t be possible or as much fun.”

More, from a press release issued by JR Media:

Stokes Victorious in Virginia!

Brian Stokes returned to Virginia International Raceway to compete in this past weekend’s WERA Sportsman Series. Stokes ran up-front all weekend and completed the event by winning the C Supestock Expert race. The first place result was a gratifying result to a solid Easter weekend of racing.

The team used Friday’s WERA practice day to test each machine’s setup and to evaluate a few new Michelin tires and SBS by Parts Unlimited brake pads. VIR’s technical layout requires lots of effort from the rider. Stokes struggled on his 2007 Kawasaki ZX10, but was up to speed quickly on his Duponte and Lipton, Attorneys at Law, sponsored 2008 Kawasaki ZX 6R. One of the most positive moments of the day occurred when the team mounted up a set of Michelin slicks. Stokes commented, “The rear slick worked pretty good, but the front worked great! I knew after only a few laps that I wanted to run the front slick in Sunday’s Superbike races–it worked that well. I think the rear would have gotten better with more suspension tuning, but the front slick was instantly better.”

When asked about the weekend, Brian said: “The first 600 race, the start was a mess. I was in the back. I got a good start, but someone up front blew a motor. Guys started going everywhere to miss the smoke…I was probably 20th going into turn one. I made it up to second, but couldn’t run down the leader in 6 laps. The 1000 was disappointing. I can’t wait to get the new Duponte & Lipton, Attorneys at Law, 2008 Kawasaki ZX 10 ready for next weekend! The last race was good. I got to the front much faster and was able to outbrake the other guys going into turn one. I’d really like to thank Mike Reed, Ron Stokes, and all of my other sponsors for a great weekend!”

Stokes Racing’s next event will be a CCS Florida Regional scheduled for April 5th and 6th at Jennings GP in Jennings, FL.