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Randy Renfrow climbed off his RS600 onto Bob Maclean's RS260. andl went home with two S8cond-place finishes. He made it look easy. (Above) Reigning AMA Formula Two Champion Don Greene won at his home track. (Below) James Stephens (24) and Rich Oliver go at it for third. AMA Formula Two Championship: Round 2 Greene sizzles at Sears Point By Farren Williams Photos by John Ulrich, Mike Pons and Williams SONOMA, CA, MAY 18 Defending two-time National Champion Don Greene today served notice to the nation's road racing fraternity that he fully intends to capture an unprecedented third National AMA Formula Two Road Racing Championship. . Greene dommated the Formula Two final at Sears Point Inter- 8 national Raceway from wire to wire, taking the win with a blistering 26.27second margin over MacLean Racingsponsored Randy Renfrow of Virginia. Greene also cruised to an easy win in his heat race, handily taking the five-lap qualifier with 9.32 seconds to spare over fellow Californian James Stevens. Stevens, ridinga new Honda after parking his familiar Rotax, finished third in the main event, while fourth place in the final went to Rich Oliver of Richmond, California. Chris McNellis - anot.h~r rider. fro~ the Golden State - fInished fIfth In the Formula Two National. Greene, sponsored by Arai/Dunlop/ Kal-Gard/Bates/Fox, started things off by grabbinR the holeshot in the afternoon's first F-2 heat race, and quickly set about pulling his Honda, equipped with Dunlop radial slicks, away from the pack. He was followed off the line by Oliver, Stephens, Doug Brauneck of Georgia, and McNellis, sponsored by Long Beach Yamaha/ TCP/Stoess Racing/Dunlop/jack & Son Auto. Stevens got around Oliver to take over second place on the second lap, about the same time home-town favorite Wayne Montoya of Oakland, California, dropped out of the race with mechanical problems. Brauneck, sponsored by Hasty Racing/Shoeil Michelin/Castrol/Diamond, was attempting to hold down fourth place, but was gelling pressure from a hardcharging McNellis. By lap four, Greene had a 7.2second lead ove.r Stevens and was still pulling away from the pack with an impressive display a riding skill that had fans cheering him on. Stephens had settled into a comfortable second, with Honda-mounted Olivet', sponsored by Kosman/Shoei/SuperTrapp/ Roland Cushway/Lockheed(Fox/ Red Line, accepting third place for the duration. McNellis got by Brauneck on the final.1ap to claim fourth at the nag; Brauneck had to settle for fifth. Colorado's Keith Kiyota was first off the line in the second Formula Two heat race, followed closely by Dwayne Chung (Berkeley Yamaha/ OC-RRR/), Honda-mounted Jeff Heino from New Hampshire, Nevada's Marcello Del Giudice, and Renfrow. Heino went from third to first in the late stages of the opening lap, followed closely by Chung; the pacesetting duo dropped Kiyota to third. A hard-charging Renfrow moved into fourth on lap two, displacing Ed Key of Wisconsin to fifth. Chung crashed hard into the tires in turn two as riders began the third lap of the race, but neither motorcycle nor rider were injured seriously. Heino was out front, powering away from the pack, while Kiyota (K&K Racing/Fay Myers Honda/Castrol) tried hard to fend off a fierce challenge from Renfrow. Renfrow, who was easily the fastest moving rider on the track, got by Kiyota on lap four, but with only one lap remaining he had no chance of catching Heino, who went on to win with a comfortable lead. Renfrow took second, leading Kiyota, Danny Coe, Key and Montoya across the finish line. . "The bike feels real good, but I'm kind of tired," said Greene after the heat races. "I think the'bike has more potential than I do as a rider. That was just the heat race; I was just breaking in the motor, actually. The bike has a brand new motor." Greene didn't look like a "kind of tired" rider with little potential when the Formula Two final was flagged off the starting grid about a haii an hour later. Oliver took the holeshot with Greene close in tow, and it wasn't long before the defending champ took over the top spot. Oliver retook the lead briefly on lap two, but Greene motored by for good on the next lap, twisted the throttle grip, and left the rest of the field reeling in his wake. A duel developed for second place between Oliver, Renfrow, and Stevens in the early going, but by the time the field completed lap five, Renfrow had second place nailed down solid, Stevens was holding third without challenge, Oliver was motoring alone in fourth place, and Key was cruising in fifth. Greene completed the lap 3.5 seconds upon Renfrow. Heat-winner Heino, who went down hard in turn five on the fifth lap, was out of the race with minor neck injuries. Five laps later the top four positions remained unchanged, but Key had been knocked out of fifth place by Coe, who was trailed by John Long of Florida, McNellis, Brauneck, and Gary Tatsumi. Greene reportedly turned a lap time of 1:51.2 (81.68 mph) on lap 12, and by the 17th lap had a substantial lead on Renfrow. With five laps togo in the 20-lap main event, the order read Greene, Renfrow, Stephens, Oliver, Coe, McNellis, Long, Key, Brauneck, and Montoya.. Coe went down hard in turn four on lap 19 in a last-ditch effort to take fourth from Oliver; he just got past Oliver, but couldn't keep his motor· cycle on two wheels. Greene continued 'to put distance between himself and Renfrow; by the time he took the checkered £lag, the defending National Champ had moved out in front of second place by more than 26 seconds. The time for Greene's win was 37:25.199, for an average speed of 80.909 mph. Ren[row easily took second, and was followed home by Stephens, Oliver, McNellis, Long, Brauneck, Montoya, Key, and Chung. Results 1. Don Green (Hon); 2. Randy Ranfrow (Hon); 3. James Slaphens (Hon); 4. Richard Oliver (Hon); 5. Chris McNellis (Yam); 6. John Long (Hon); 7. Doug Brauneck (Yam); 6. Wayne Momoya (Yam); 9. Ed Key (Hon); 10. Dwayne Chung (Yam): 11. Keilh Kiy· ola (Hon): 12. Gary Gibson (Hon); 13. Joe Monloya (Vern): 14. Gordon Hedemark (Honl; 15. David Curtis (Han); 18. James Henderson (Yam); 17. Andrew Price (Yaml; 1B. Marcello Del Giudice (Yam); 19. Joe Cannon (Vam); 20. Allan Scon (Vlml; 21. Robert DeWitt (Vam); 22. Tim Csslellano (Vam); 23. GaryTalsumi (Vam): 24. Daniel toe (Yam): 25. Mike Sullivan (Hon). RACE TIME: 37 minules, 25.199 seconds RACE DISTANCE: 50 miles AVERAGE SPEED: 80.909 mph AMA FORMULA lWO POINTS STANDINGS: 1. Don Greene (31): 2. (TIE) Randy Renfrow/John Long/Doug Brauneck (16): 5. James Slephens(13); 6. Richard Oliver (11); 7. (TIE) Chris McNellis/Ed Key (10): 9. JaIl Heino (9); 10. Wayne Monloya(7t 11. Dwayne Chung (5): 12. Keith KiYOlI (4): 13. Gary Gibson (3); 14. (TIEl Joe Monloya/David CurIii (2); 16. Gordon Hedemarl< (1).