Cunha Wins Three AFM Races at Buttonwillow

Former AFM competitor Mathew Cunha marked his return to the club with a three-win weekend at Buttonwillow Raceway Park's new "The Circuit" configuration. The American Federation of Motorcyclists event on August 29-30 featured close competition and a strong sense of community.

Cunha, who began his career with the AFM in 2008 before moving away from the area, immediately returned to the front. He secured victories in Saturday's Formula Pacific Sprint, Sunday's Formula Pacific feature, and the Open Superbike race.

Cunha's Dominant Return

In Sunday's premier Formula Pacific feature, Eugene McMahel launched from the grid to take the holeshot and held the lead through the opening laps. Cunha worked his way past and, once in front, opened a gap that he managed for the remainder of the event.

Behind them, the fight for the final podium position produced some of the weekend's best on-track action. Ryan Shu initially held third before a mistake in Turn 1 allowed Haydn Meng through. On the final lap, Shu and Jason Nelson both attacked Meng between Turns 4 and 5, with Shu emerging in third. Nelson tried to set up one final attack out of Turn 10, but Shu held him off.

Cunha also showed his pace in Open Superbike. Shu grabbed the holeshot, but Cunha swept around the outside in Turn 2 to take the lead and never looked back. Behind him, Sahar Zvik secured second after missing all of Saturday's events with mechanical problems before getting his motorcycle repaired.

Close Competition Across Classes

In Middleweight Superbike, Haydn Meng got a great reaction to the starting lights but struggled to get the motorcycle into second gear, costing him the holeshot. Meng quickly recovered, reclaimed the lead and pulled clear for the victory.

The Formula 40 events provided plenty of action. In Formula 40 Heavyweight, Gian Luca Storti took the holeshot before Dmytro Izvoznikov made a two-rider pass entering Turn 5 to take the lead and pull away for a commanding win.

Formula 40 Middleweight developed into a battle between Greg Olson and Stephen Rue. Olson passed Rue entering Turn 5 on the opening lap and held the lead as the pair worked through lapped traffic. Rue stayed close and made his move entering Turn 1 on the white-flag lap. Olson couldn't mount another attack before the finish, giving Rue the victory, with Olson second and Jansher Ashraf third.

In Formula 40 Lightweight, Luke Hiesterman grabbed the holeshot and initially held off Dave Moss before beginning to build a gap. Heisterman's race ended with a crash in Turn 7 on Lap 2, leaving Moss to take the win.

Community and Club Support

The weekend showcased the community aspect of West Coast club competition. The CVMA Road Crew visited the AFM paddock as part of its summer circuit supporting motorcycle road racing throughout the West, reflecting a growing effort among western racing organizations to support one another.

On Saturday evening, racers, families, crews and volunteers gathered for AFM's traditional paddock "Family Meal," supported by sponsors TBT Apparel, Remix Racing and CVSB. Medals from the weekend's Relay Race were presented during the gathering, while K9 Counterbalance sponsored the American Twins Unlimited Novice podium with a $300/$200/$100 cash purse for the top three novice finishers.

The Buttonwillow weekend demonstrated both sides of AFM events: fierce competition on track and a strong community off it.