2019 Round 3 Race Report
Jayson Uribe Takes Top Honours At Record-Breaking AFM Round 3
The AFM was back in action for the third round of their season June 29th and 30th at Willows, California's Thunderhill Raceway Park.
Jayson Uribe continued his dominant campaign with a second hat-trick of wins. It took lap-record pace to edge out the Graves Motorsports duo of Andrew Lee and Valentin Debise.
For the AFM's first trip to Thunderhill in 2019, conditions were perfect, and the grids were massive. Two hundred and ten riders registered to race on Sunday; a number last exceeded over a decade ago. Every single class saw the benefit, but the most impressive grids were that of the 600cc classes. Multiple 600 races had north of 60 machines on the grid! This class is far from dead and buried, at least not with the AFM.
At the top of the 600 class, there was a plethora of talent; Cory Ventura, Braeden Ortt, Deion Campbell, Brandon Crawford, and Berto Woolridge were all capable of clicking off six fast laps and taking a win. In the first 600 battle of the day, 600 Superbike, it would be Ventura taking the win on his R6 over Crawford and third place man Stephen Rue. Speaking after the race Ventura was pleased with his first win on a 600cc machine, "I have never done any hot laps around Thunderhill on a 600, the biggest adjustment for me is how much you can trust the R6." Hopefully, Ventura can carry that confidence in the Yamaha to Laguna Seca, where he will be competing with MotoAmerica in just over eight days.
Later in the day, the 600 Superstock race was an absolute battle. The top 3, Ortt, Ventura and Campbell would cross the line less than .26 seconds apart after six laps. This time it would be Ortt's chance to stand atop the podium, with Ventura second, and Campbell an incredibly close third. Just .004 seconds separated Ventura and Campbell at the line. This weekend was Ortt's first trip out to Thunderhill, and the Canadian had a rough start to the weekend, struggling to get comfortable on the Graves Motorsports ZX-6R before race day. Ortt was visibly disappointed in his performance on Friday, and it was great to hear him speak with such excitement Sunday night: "Showing up to a new track and crashing on the first day was a tough blow for myself and the team. However, we all worked hard throughout the weekend and finished with a race win, which gives me great confidence going into Laguna."
AFM legend Berto Woolridge would also take home a 1st place trophy from Thunderhill, sealing the weekend with a victory in Formula 1, crossing the line first on his R6, in front of 44 other finishers.
On the big bikes, it was a new track on a new weekend, but the story was the same. Jayson Uribe rode his Honda CBR1000RR to a trio of wins. But the repeat did not come easy, Graves Motorsports were in town with reigning Superstock National Champion, and AFM number one plate holder Andrew Lee joined by Valentin Debise. Debise rode for Graves last round at Buttonwillow; however that weekend he was aboard a ZX-6R, and with a further 400cc at his disposal, he was bound to be a threat on his freshly prepared ZX-10R.
Uribe came out firing on Saturday, and despite a crash in the session right before qualifying, he put the Honda on P1 for Sunday's Formula Pacific race. The next day Uribe would take all three wins, with Debise second, and Lee third in the two races they contested. The push from world-class talents like Lee and Debise took Uribe to a new Thunderhill Raceway Park lap record of 1:46.699. After the record was confirmed, Uribe was still looking forward to faster laps. "I can't thank my crew enough for all the hard work they put in this weekend! Everybody put in 100%. Their efforts allowed me to show the potential of the Honda against some big players in the industry. I know wholeheartedly that low 1:45s are possible...we will achieve that goal."
With the little bikes, it was again the Rocco Landers show, continuing his unstoppable form for 2019, Landers took home victories in every race, finishing in front of Marc Edwards, Brenden Ketelsen, Nikolas Thompson and Brian Bartlow who were all showing great pace in their own right. Landers will look to continue his run and extend his MotoAmerica Liqui Moly Junior Cup championship lead at Laguna Seca.
The AFM will be back in action and back at Thunderhill July 27-28
For updates between rounds, please follow @raceafm
Full results available at AFM SpeedHive Page - Round 3 Results
Expert Results:
Formula 40 Heavyweight
1. George Myshlyayev (Kaw ZX-10R)
2. Eric Gulbransen (KTM 1290 Superduke)
3. Gavin Botha (Kaw)
4. Jon Delameter (Apr RSV4)
5. Eric Sterner (Yam YZF-R1)
Formula 40 Middleweight
1. Berto Wooldridge (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Stephen Rue (Hon CBR600RR)
3. Carlos Neves (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Thomas Montano (Hon CBR600RR)
5. Jon Bawden (Suz GSX-R750)
Formula 40 Lightweight
1. Aaron Tulchinsky (Yam FZ-07)
2. Ian Smith (Kaw)
3. Jesse Davis (Yam FZ-07)
4. Owen Flatley (Yam YZF-R6/450)
5. Michael Souza (Suz SV650)
400 Superstock
1. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400)
2. Marc Edwards (Kaw Ninja 400)
3. Brenden Ketelsen (Kaw Ninja 400)
4. Nikolas Thompson (Kaw Ninja 400)
5. Brian Bartlow (Kaw Ninja 400)
350 Superstock
1. Jay Kinberger (Yam YZF-R3)
2. Ashlee Deskin (Yam YZF-R3)
3. Lucky Odisetti (Yam YZF-R3)
4. Pao Vang (Yam YZF-R3)
5. Ramkumar Subramanian (Yam YZF-R3)
Afemme Lightweight
1. Shiree Cano (Kaw Ninja 300)
2. Aliki Karayan (Kaw Ninja 300)
Formula 50
1. Gavin Botha (Kaw)
2. Eric Gulbransen (KTM 1290 Superduke)
3. Carlos Neves (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Haim Beressi (Yam YZF R6)
5. Michael Kim (Yam YZF-R6)
Afemme
1. Shelina Moreda (Yam YZF-R1)
2. Valentine Welch (Suz GSX-R600/450)
3. Lexi Ferreira (Yam YZF-R6)
400 Superbike
1. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400)
2. Marc Edwards (Kaw Ninja 400)
3. Brenden Ketelsen (Kaw Ninja 400)
4. Nikolas Thompson (Kaw Ninja 400)
5. Brian Bartlow (Kaw Ninja 400)
350 Superbike
1. Ashlee Deskin (Yam YZF-R3)
2. Lucky Odisetti (Yam YZF-R3)
3. Jay Kinberger (Yam YZF-R3)
4. Joshua Ly (Yam YZF-R3)
5. Ramkumar Subramanian (Yam YZF-R3)
Legacy Lightweight
1. Jordan Edginton (Suz SV650)
2. Shane Austin (Suz SV650)
Vintage
1. Darrin Gauvin (Hon CB900F)
2. Kevin McKee (Kaw Z1)
3. CJ Bonura (Hon CB900F)
4. Terry Cheney (Hon CB900F)
5. Mark McKinney (Suz GS750E)
Open Superbike
1. Jayson Uribe (Hon CBR1000RR)
2. Valentin Debise (Kaw ZX-10R)
3. Andrew Lee (Kaw ZX-10R)
4. Deion Campbell (Kaw ZX-10R)
5. Wyatt Farris (Kaw ZX-10R)
750 Superbike
1. Berto Wooldridge (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Patrick Murphy (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Nick Lundquist (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Jake Whitcomb (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Jesse Carter (Suz GSX-R750)
Lightweight Superbike
1. Jordan Edginton (Suz SV650)
2. Aaron Tulchinsky (Yam FZ-07)
3. Martin Sullivan (Suz SV650)
4. Brandon Souza (Yam YZF-R6/450)
5. Sam Romick (Suz SV650)
Lightweight Twins
1. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400)
2. Marc Edwards (Kaw Ninja 400)
3. Brenden Ketelsen (Kaw Ninja 400)
4. Nikolas Thompson (Kaw Ninja 400)
5. Brian Bartlow (Kaw Ninja 400)
600 Superbike
1. Cory Ventura (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Brandon Crawford (Kaw ZX-6R)
3. Stephen Rue (Hon CBR600RR)
4. Samuel Gluss (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Robert Brittain (Yam YZF-R6)
Open GP
1. Jayson Uribe (Hon CBR1000RR)
2. Jordan Edginton (Yam YZF-R1)
3. Kevin Murphy (Suz GSX-R1000)
4. George Myshlyayev (Kaw ZX-10R)
5. Tyler Wolters (Kaw ZX-10R)
Open Twins
1. Eric Gulbransen (KTM 1290 Superduke)
2. Jimmy Weidman (Duc Panigale R)
3. Craig Grantham (Duc 996)
Super Dino
1. Roger Baker (Yam YZF-R1)
2. Ben Hodges (Suz GSX-R1000)
3. Stephen Dummit (Suz GSX-R1000)
4. Craig Grantham (Duc 996)
Middleweight Singles and Twins
1. Jordan Edginton (Suz SV650)
2. Jesse Davis (Yam FZ-07)
3. Sam Romick (Suz SV650)
4. Kalvin Goforth (Suz SV650)
5. Shane Austin (Suz SV650)
450 Superbike
1. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400R)
2. Brandon Souza (Yam YZF-R6/450)
3. Ian Smith (Kaw ZX-6/477)
4. Owen Flatley (Yam YZF-R6/450)
5. Paul Johnson (Yam YZF-R6/450)
Formula One
1. Berto Wooldridge (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Kaleb De Keyrel (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Samuel Gluss (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Patrick Murphy (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Nick Lundquist (Yam YZF-R6)
Formula Two
1. Roger Baker (Yam TZ250)
2. Sergio Morales Galvan (Yam TZ250)
Formula Three
1. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400)
2. Marc Edwards (Kaw Ninja 400)
3. Brenden Ketelsen (Kaw Ninja 400)
4. Nikolas Thompson (Kaw Ninja 400)
5. Brian Bartlow (Kaw Ninja 400)
Formula Four
1. Brandon Souza (Yam YZF-R6/450)
2. Martin Sullivan (Suz SV650
3. Aaron Tulchinsky (Yam FZ-07)
4. Ian Smith (Kaw ZX-6/477)
5. Owen Flatley (Yam YZF-R6/450)
Formula Pacific
1. Jayson Uribe (Hon CBR1000RR)
2. Valentin Debise (Kaw ZX-10R)
3. Andrew Lee (Kaw ZX-10R)
4. Wyatt Farris (Kaw ZX-10R)
5. Deion Campbell (Kaw ZX-10R)
450 Superstock
1. Brandon Souza (Yam YZF-R6/450)
2. Ian Smith (Kaw ZX-6/477)
3. Owen Flatley (Yam YZF-R6/450)
4. Max Sawicky (Yam YZF-R6/450)
5. Michael Welch (Kaw Ninja 400)
Calishine Ninja 400 Cup
1. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400)
2. Marc Edwards (Kaw Ninja 400)
3. Nikolas Thompson (Kaw Ninja 400)
4. Brian Bartlow (Kaw Ninja 400)
5. Paul Johnson (Kaw Ninja 400)
300 World Superstock
1. Ashlee Deskin (Yam YZF-R3)
2. Lucky Odisetti (Yam YZF-R3)
3. Joshua Ly (Yam YZF-R3)
Legacy 250
1. Jordan Edginton (Kaw Ninja 250)
2. Pao Vang (Kaw Ninja 250)
3. Soua Yang (Kaw)
600 Superstock
1. Braeden Ortt (Kaw ZX-6R)
2. Cory Ventura (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Deion Campbell (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Brandon Crawford (Kaw ZX-6R)
5. Samuel Gluss (Yam YZF-R6)
Open Superstock
1. Valentin Debise (Kaw ZX-10R)
2. Andrew Lee (Kaw ZX-10R)
3. Wyatt Farris (Kaw ZX-10R)
4. George Myshlyayev (Kaw ZX-10R)
5. Kevin Murphy (Suz GSX-R1000)
Legacy Middleweight
1. Ben Hodges (Suz GSX-R1000)
2. Jesse Carter (Suz GSX-R750)
3. Clive Savacool (Suz GSX-R750)
4. Stephen Dummit (Suz GSX-R1000)
5. Jose Flores (Suz GSX-R750)
750 Superstock
1. Kaleb De Keyrel (Yam YZF-R1)
2. Samuel Gluss (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Nick Lundquist (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Jacob Hennen (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Clive Savacool (Suz GSX-R750)
Legacy Heavyweight
1. Ben Hodges (Suz GSX-R1000)
2. Jose Flores (Suz GSX-R750)
3. Stephen Dummit (Suz GSX-R1000)
Novice Race Report:
We all know that the Novice riders are not only the future of the club; in reality, they are the heart of it.
This past weekend at Thunderhill we had the largest grids seen since Bush was in office, and a large percentage of those riders were rocking yellow plates.
As you would expect, the majority of Novice riders chose to participate in the smaller displacement classes, that is, if you include the 600cc weapon as "smaller." At Thunderhill we had 210 riders registered to race, north of 20 Novices registered to race 600cc classes, helping to make it the most popular discipline of the weekend.
Racing started on Saturday for many novices, and things got off to a very competitive start. In 350 Superstock Matthieu Massicotte and Kelton Dockendorff would kick off their weekend-long battle with a cracking race. At the flag, it would be Masicotte, by a mere .113! You don't need to know math to know that is a close finish. In 400 Superstock Brandon Degerald took a healthy win, with Aden Thao dropping out, Degerald took what would be his most comfortable win of the weekend, Thao would keep him honest on Sunday.
The battle between Dockendorff and Massicotte would rage on throughout Sunday, Dockendorff seemed to have the upper hand, winning Formula Singles, 350 Superbike, and 300 World Superstock. But Masicotte would be less than a second behind in every race. Speaking to Massicotte, the difference came down to corner exit, "His KTM is amazing out of the corners" "On Saturday in race one I had a bad start, it took all six laps to catch him and take the win. A small mistake in turn 14 cost me the win in our second race, in the third Kelton did a great job and left me no opportunity to battle for the win."
On the 400cc machines, Degerald proved to be the superior rider, edging out all others. But that doesn't mean there was a considerable gap to the field, Degerald edged out Thao for the 400 Superbike win by a tiny .117 second margin. The small bike races will be worth a watch in July; hopefully, Thao and Massicotte will be able to make some adjustments and spend some more time in P1.
Now, to the massive 600 grid. At the tip of the spear, you have Grant Boldt and Hugo Peralta. Both on Yamaha machinery, the two would be somewhat inseparable through the entirety of the weekend, in 600 Superbike Peralta edged Boldt by .35 seconds, in 600 Superstock Peralta managed to gap out a near 9-second victory. Boldt, however, did get his taste of success, winning Saturdays F40 Middleweight race.
The marquis middleweight event on Sunday is Formula I, with 20 novices lined up it was the most substantial novice match of the weekend. It would again be a close battle between Boldt and Peralta, but this time they would be joined by Eli Maddock on his GSXR 750. Maddock would squeeze out a nail-biting .12 second victory over Peralta, with Boldt a further 4.28 seconds adrift. It wasn't as easy as just powering away on his 750 as Maddock explained, "I had 20 something riders to pass, I started on the back row, it was super fun! I was chasing down Hugo P for pretty much the entire race, pass, pass back, he was riding well. He had me beat on corner speed, but I had him beat on the power and the brakes." Good thing they throw the flag on the straight away and not mid-corner.
The grids were not as deep for the 1000cc Novice races, but the racing was still close. The weekend belonged to Trevor Bjorgum who took three wins on his ZX10R over second-placed Jesse Royal. Royal did, however, beat out Bjorgum in the Open Superbike race, proving he also has what it takes to come home P1. Round 3 was Bjorgum's first full race weekend since 2012, joining the military kept him from the track for the last seven years; hopefully, we get to see more of him in the future.
Do you want to be featured in next rounds Rookie Race Report? Do you have a great battle to talk about? Hit us up at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or through the FB page!
Novice Results Below.
Formula 40 Heavyweight Novice
1 969 Dustin Tibbets
2 541 Ron Pedersen
3 942 Donyel Jones-Williams
4 788 Rich Ramirez
5 928 Greg Brazell
Formula 40 Middleweight Novice
1 778 Grant Boldt
2 869 Luis Nunes
3 417 Jeremy Taubman
4 944 John Engler
5 877 Ryan Peterson
Formula 40 Lightweight Novice
1 952 Miles Beacham
2 971 Wilder Grippo
3 970 Christine Harris
4 983 Charlie Busa
400 Supersport Novice
1 716 Brandon DeGerald
2 993 Alex Ricci
3 895 Kegan Connick
DNF 755 Aden Thao
350 Supersport Novice
1 771 Matthieu Massicotte
2 526 Kelton Dockendorf
3 858 Kimie Sako
4 400 Christjan Larsen
5 896 Robert Sissons
Afemme Lightweight Novice
1 867 Krissie Coseteng
2 922 Kalen Brock
3 913 Carla Cruz
4 721 Bridgette LeBer
5 828 Justine Castle
Formula 50 Novice
1 944 John Engler
2 852 Rick Fehrman
Afemme Novice
1 617 Guadalupe Vega
400 Superbike Novice
1 716 Brandon DeGerald
2 993 Alex Ricci
3 895 Kegan Connick
4 755 Aden Thao
5 949 David Eddie
350 Superbike Novice
1 526 Kelton Dockendorf
2 771 Matthieu Massicotte
3 400 Christjan Larsen
4 736 Reece Warfield
5 735 Ozzy Thebe
Vintage Novice
1 63R Raymond Tinney
Legacy Lightweight Novice
1 871 David Rodrigues
2 989 Duncan Thomas
Open Superbike Novice
1 887 Jesse Royal
2 840 Trevor Bjorgum
3 967 GianLuca Storti
4 969 Dustin Tibbets
5 541 Ron Pedersen
750 Superbike Novice
1 778 Grant Boldt
2 426 Eli Maddock
3 706 Hugo Peralta
4 733 Norman Alexander Balladares
5 417 Jeremy Taubman
Lightweight Twins Novice
1 755 Aden Thao
2 993 Alex Ricci
3 918 Wah Shuen
4 895 Kegan Connick
5 949 David Eddie
Formula Singles Novice
1 526 Kelton Dockendorf
2 736 Reece Warfield
3 735 Ozzy Thebe
600 Superbike Novice
1 706 Hugo Peralta
2 778 Grant Boldt
3 882 Chris Stewart
4 927 Eric Hasserjian
5 998 Tyler Bacon
Open GP Novice
1 840 Trevor Bjorgum
2 887 Jesse Royal
3 969 Dustin Tibbets
4 967 GianLuca Storti
5 541 Ron Pedersen
450 Superbike Novice
1 952 Miles Beacham
2 849 Pedro Quiroga
3 878 Allard Chu
4 970 Christine Harris
Middleweight S&T Novice
1 950 Jimmy McAllister
2 989 Duncan Thomas
3 874 Ladislav Teshale Sucik
FI Novice
1 426 Eli Maddock
2 706 Hugo Peralta
3 778 Grant Boldt
4 927 Eric Hasserjian
5 998 Tyler Bacon
FIII Novice
1 716 Brandon DeGerald
2 526 Kelton Dockendorf
3 993 Alex Ricci
4 895 Kegan Connick
5 735 Ozzy Thebe
600 Supersport Novice
1 706 Hugo Peralta
2 778 Grant Boldt
3 882 Chris Stewart
4 998 Tyler Bacon
5 927 Eric Hasserjian
Open Supersport Novice
1 840 Trevor Bjorgum
2 887 Jesse Royal
3 541 Ron Pedersen
4 942 Donyel Jones-Williams
Legacy Middleweight Novice
1 417 Jeremy Taubman
2 750 Stuart Clotworthy
3 811 Tyler McFalls
4 972 Oue Vang
5 877 Ryan Peterson
750 Supersport Novice
1 706 Hugo Peralta
2 998 Tyler Bacon
3 733 Norman Alexander Balladares
4 739 Philip Fernandez
*Photo by Max Klein/Oxymoron Photography, courtesy of AFM
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