By Mike Solis

In the European Motorcycle Accessories Formula Pacific race this past weekend at Thunderhill Raceway, Michael Earnest of Pacific Tracktime looked as though he was going to check out early, pulling away from the field on his Dan Kyle tuned GSX-R1000 with the hopes of scoring his first ever Formula Pacific win. But as the race went on in the hundred degree heat, Ken Hill made his way past former AFM number one James Randolph and closed the gap on Earnest, showing him a wheel with his Michelin-shod Roseville Cycles CBR1000RR before charging past on the brakes into 14. The battle between Hill and Earnest allowed defending AFM number one Dave Stanton and Corey Sarros to close the gap, making it a four-rider battle for the lead.

Things became even more interesting on the last lap, when Hill accidentally clipped some cones exiting the esses heading onto the back straight, sending them into the racing line and foiling Stanton’s attempt to make a last-lap run at Earnest. At the checkered flag, it was Hill who took the win, with Earnest in second and Stanton third.

“The bike just wasn’t working as well as it did last month before I destroyed it, but we got it back together on Friday night and just put the best setup on it that we could,” explained Hill, an instructor at the renowned Freddie Spencer Riding School “It was a good race Michael was gone! I was a little concerned about that, but as soon as I got by James, I just tried to run off a couple of good laps. When we caught Michael, I just wanted to bide my time. I showed him a wheel a couple of times, just to see what would happen. As soon as we got by him, I gapped him a little bit, and tried to do some clean laps.”

For the second time this season, Robert Campbell was able to pull the hat trick on his Michelin-shod GSX-R750, taking the wins in the Scuderia West Formula 1 race, the Suzuki of Oakland 750 Production race, and 750 Superbike. In Formula 1, Campbell found himself challenged by the Moto Italiano Ducati 999 of defending Open Twins champion Eric Gulbransen, until Gulbransen lowsided on the exit of the Turn 5 Cyclone. After a decisive win in 750 Production, Campbell found himself in pursuit of Kim Nakashima in 750 Superbike, until Nakashima crashed at the top of the hill in Turn 9, tearing the steering head off the frame of his Matsushima Performance GSX-R750.

“A lot of it was attrition, you know?” explained Campbell. “I was working hard to try and catch Kim, and he ended up throwing it away in 9. And then there’s Gulbransen, who was pushing hard to catch me in Formula 1, and he threw it away as well. The guys are great they push me hard, and that’s the only way I can keep my pace up! T-Hill seems to be one of the best tracks for Michelin tires with Ken Hill’s setup help and the tires from Alex at Michelin, everything just seemed to work great!”

16-year-old Bobby Fong was another multiple race winner on the weekend, taking wins in both the Keigwins@theTrack 600 Production race and the Pacific Tracktime 600 Superbike race on his Dan Kyle tuned, Net Moto Racing R6. In the Production race, Fong held the lead early in the race until former AFM number one Jeff Tigert came past. Tigert’s lead was short lived, as his CBR600RR mysteriously stopped running less than half a lap later, allowing Fong to take the win with Rick Corey in second on a new San Jose Yamaha R6. Ken Hill finished third, riding a Roseville Cycles CBR600RR.

Later in the day, Fong ran and hid from the field in the Pacific Tracktime 600 Superbike, leaving the rest of the field to battle over second place. There was plenty of action behind Fong in the battle for runner up position, as Mario Bonfante crashed out of second on his new GSX-R600 at the top of the Turn 5 Cyclone. Zenzo Tazawa inherited the position but crashed out in Turn 11 just one lap later, taking Kenny Carlotta with him. At the line, it was Fong who took the win, 17 seconds over second place finisher Grant Riggs. Reciprocity rider Anthony David crossed the line in 3rd.

“It’s too bad that Tigert’s bike died on him, I was looking forward to a good race!” Fong admitted afterwards. “My Dan Kyle suspension was working great along with the Carry Andrew motor, I’ve really been able to pick up the pace!”

After a bit of a slow start Correy Sarros charged through the pack on his Central Coast Sportbikes GSX-R1000 to take the win in the Open Grand Prix race, beating a field of fast riders that included former number one plateholder Rob Mesa, former AMA national regular David Bell, and defending Open Production champion Martin Szwarc

“I thought Mesa and Bell would be right there, but I looked back late in the race and didn’t see anyone behind me,” said Sarros. “With the heat, today just seems like such a blur – my brain is just cooked. I have to thank KC at BRG Racing who did a lot of work to my bike; it was running really well right today.” Bell retaliated later in the day on his Dean Mizdal tuned GSX-R1000, crossing the line just 0.055 seconds ahead of Sarros after a great battle in the GP Frame and Wheel Open Superbike race.

“Sarros came around me early, but it looked like he was losing his mental edge, running wide in different places,” said Bell. “I just stalked him, got him a couple of laps from the end, and turned it on. He got me earlier in the day in Open GP, when I was running a takeoff from last month. That tire was sliding around everywhere – I thought I was leaking oil from my clutch cover!”

With Kurt Spencer chasing Kawasaki money in his first ride on a Ninja 650R, Tom Dorsey was able to run away with the 650 Twins win on his Twin Works Factory SV650, his second straight win of the season. Former 250 Production champion Jay Kinberger finished second, his best class finish to date. After a bit of a slow start, Spencer was able to work his way through the pack to finish third.

“That felt good, I hadn’t led a race from start to finish since 2001 on that old AND framed EX500,” said Dorsey. “I got a great start, but I messed up a little in 2 and 3, and thought Kurt would get me any minute. But I just kept going the bike was working well, the tires were working well, everything just felt good!”

Riding his trusty Twin Works Factory Suzuki SV650, Kurt Spencer took a convincing lead early in the Zoom Zoom Trackdays Formula 4 race, with David Civiello in pursuit. Brian Parriott made his way through the pack into third position, riding a 1200cc, pushrod-actuated, two-valve-per-cylinder BMW. After exchanging positions momentarily with Civiello late in the race, Spencer pulled away to take the win, with Civiello crossing the line in second. Parriott crossed the line in third, but was later removed from the results after his BMW was deemed not-legal for the class.

“The race went really good,” explained Spencer, “I just took my time out there, and was a little surprised to see someone come up beside me I thought it was Parriott! After that, I just wicked it up a little, and brought it home”

One of the best races in the day took place in the Aftershocks Suspension 250 Production class, which saw Susan Urquhart taking the early lead ahead of David Crone, Val Kotyza, and points leader Mike Corbino. Showing excellent speed in Turns 1 and 2, Urquhart’s lead reminded many of Terry Vogel, who won the 250 Production championship back in the mid 90s. After a few lead changes, the battle at the front turned into a pair of two rider battles, with Corbino challenging Crone for the lead, while Urquhart and Val Kotyza contested third. At the line, Corbino’s attempt to draft and pass for the win on his Desmoto Sport EX250 came up just short as David Crone took his first win of the season on his G-Force performance VTR250. Corbino finished second, with Kotyza third.

“I got a bit of a slow start,” explained Crone, “so I decided to hang back for a few laps to see how things developed. Sue was flying out there! She taught me a few things in Turn 1, where she never seemed to let off! As the race went on, they key point was on lap four, where the group was balked by a lapped rider I was able to get them all on the outside to take the lead. At that point, I knew I had to put my head down I thought if I could hold the lead to Turn 13, I’d have it.”

The next round of AFM action is scheduled to take place at Infineon Raceway on August 12-13.

Unofficial Results AFM Round 5 July 16, 2006 Thunderhill Raceway Park

European Motorcycle Accessories / PVM Wheels Formula Pacific 1. Ken Hill (Hon 1000) 2. Michael Earnest (Suz 1000) 3. David Stanton (Suz 1000) 4. Corey Sarros (Suz 1000) 5. Jeff Tigert (Hon 1000) 6. David Bell (Suz 1000)

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

750 Superbike 1. Robert Campbell (Suz 750) 2. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 3. Dan Sewell (Suz 750) 4. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) 5. Matthew Raferty (Suz 750) 6. Brian Parriott (BMW 1200)

Pacific Tracktime 600 Superbike 1. Bobby Fong (Yam 600) 2. Grant Riggs (Suz 600) 3. Anthony David (Kaw 600) 4. Tim Kamholz (Hon 600) 5. David Sadowski Jr. ((Yam 600) 6. Jeff Gagne (Yam 600)

450 Superbike 1. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400) 2. Mark Elrod (Hon 450) 3. Jose Quintanar (Yam 400) 4. Craig Sanders (Kaw 400) 5. Greg Becker (Hon 400) 6. Leonard Barker Jr (Kaw 500)

Kilowatt 250 Superbike 1. Shawn Herrera (Yam 250) 2. Andrew Duafala (Yam 250) 3. Cliff Farrar (Yam 250) 4. Joe Rust (Yam 250) 5. Johnny Radavero (Yam 250) 6. Thomas Higgins (Apr 250)

Take it 2 the Track Open Production 1. David Stanton (Suz 1000) 2. Corey Sarros (Suz 1000) 3. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 4. Andy Carman (Suz 1000) 5. James J. King (Suz 1000) 6. William Scott (Kaw 1000)

Suzuki of Oakland 750 Production 1. Robert Campbell (Suz 750) 2. Kim Nakashima (Suz 750) 3. Garry Combs (Suz 750) 4. Dan Sewell (Suz 750) 5. Matthew Raferty (Suz 750) 6. Richard Serne (Apr 1000)

Keigwins@theTrack 600 Production 1. Bobby Fong (Yam 600) 2. Rick Corey (Yam 600) 3. Ken Hill (Hon 600) 4. Anthony David (Kaw 600) 5. Mario Bonfante (Suz 600) 6. Grant Riggs (Suz 600)

450 Production 1. Mark Elrod (Hon 400) 2. Craig Sanders (Kaw 400) 3. Greg Becker (Hon 400) 4. David Wallis (Hon 400) 5. Kathy Kuwaye (Hon 400)

Aftershocks 250 Production 1. David Crone (Hon 250) 2. Michael Corbino (Kaw 250) 3. Vlastimil Kotyza (Kaw 250) 4. Susan Urquhart (Hon 250) 5. Andrew Boehm (Kaw 250) 6. Richard Lesher (Kaw 250)

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

Scuderia West Formula 1 1. Robert Campbell (Suz 750) 2. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) 3. Timothy Kamholz (Hon 600) 4. Dan Sewell (Suz 750) 5. Jeff Gagne (Yam 600) 6. Tyler Reiswig (Hon 250)

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

Formula 3 1. Tyler Reiswig (Hon 125) 2. Tommy Aquino (Hon 125) 3. Carlos Neves (Hon 125) 4. Steve Magri (Hon 125) 5. James Eckerman (Hon 125) 6. Gwyn Lewis (Hon 125)

Zoom Zoom Trackdays Formula 4 1. Kurt Spencer (Suz 650) 2. David Civiello (Suz 650) 3. David Raff (Suz 650) 4. Jay Kinberger (Suz 650) 5. Yoav Damti (Suz 650) 6. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon 400)

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

650 Twins 1. Thomas Dorsey (Suz 650) 2. Jay Kinberger (Suz 650) 3. Kurt Spencer (Kaw 650) 4. David Civiello (Suz 650) 5. Jay Avansino (Suz 650) 6. David Raff (Suz 650)

500 Twins 1. Kevin Smith (AND 500) 2. Joe Sickle (Suz 500) 3. Jonathan Forman (Suz 500) 4. Leonard Barker Jr (Kaw 500) 5. Eric Schiller (Kaw 500) 6. Robert Clifford (Kaw 500)

Formula Singles 1. Gerry Piazza (Yam 660) 2. Chris Keane (Hon 450) 3. Billy Ray (Hon 450)

Super Dinosaur 1. Neil O’Reilly (Suz 750) 2. Paul Kieffer (Suz 750) 3. Andrew Boehm (Suz 750) 4. Michael Nishita (Yam 1000) 5. Noe Pulido (Yam 400)

Teresa McKinney Realtor Formula 40 1. Shawn Reilly (Suz 1000) 2. John Turmell (Suz 1000) 3. Jeff Gruetter (Hon 1000) 4. Bud Anderson (Hon 1000) 5. Rick McDaniel (Suz 1000) 6. Tad Koklich (Suz 1000)

Clubman Heavyweight 1. Martin Ayala (Duc 999) 2. Jeremey Breton (Yam 1000) 3. Evan Morris (Suz 1000) 4. David Hutton (Yam 1000) 5. Paul Mayard (Hon 1000) 6. Jeremy Witt (HOn 954)

Clubman Middleweight 1. Jason Garibaldi (Suz 600) 2. Adrian Hoffman (Yam 600) 3. Jason McBreen (Hon 600) 4. Sven Raz (Kaw 600) 5. Paul Jasch (Suz 600) 6. Timothy Andre (Yam 600)

Clubman Lightweight 1. William Fox (Suz 650) 2. Donald Babb (Duc 800) 3. Andrew Clay (Suz 650) 4. Jeff Wilson (Suz 650) 5. Bryan Hiestand (Suz 650) 6. Spencer Smith (Suz 650)