Brian Parriott Grabs Top-10 in the AMA Formula Xtreme at Infineon

AMA Formula Xtreme May 17th, 2008 at Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA

Brian Parriott on a BMW HP2 Sport at Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California

The new BMW HP2 Sport race bike from San Jose BMW, piloted by Brian Parriott made an impressive 10th place finish on May 17th, in its first AMA Formula Xtreme event outside of the historic Daytona 200 race back in March.

For many race fans the only ranks that matter are those that end on the podium, but what makes this story specially notable is that this is BMW's first year in more than 3 decades to compete in a AMA level road racing event and they are making an excellent showing.

"We said it was race ready, but we never imagined it was this ready," aptly says BMW's latest ad campaign in response to the new HP2 Sport's phenomenal performance at both the European endurance races and US AMA circuits. "For the second time this year I found myself getting ready to battle with the best riders in the country. The AMA National at Infineon Raceway, my home track," said Brian Parriott. "I could see from the prior AMA test that we would need to make up about 5 to 6 seconds if we wanted to run at the front. Kinda impossible but stranger things have happened and I am always optimistic."

Brian has a reputation for manifesting the impossible. During the last Daytona 200 event, he grabbed a very impressive 6th place, even though he had crashed early on in the race and had to fight his way to the front from the very last spot.

Showing the same high level of determination he overcame a severe handicap on being on a race bike that's heavier and less powerful than the current crop of 600 I-4 class from the competition. However BMW's anti-dive Telelever front suspension seems to give the edge in cornering and in the hands of an experienced racer like Brian, any advantage no matter how small can become ammunition for the win.

Brian initially started the practice sessions with a 5 second gap from the lead. He continues: "Friday morning was the first official AMA practice and its outcome decided the qualifying groups. I needed to be in the faster group, so I tried my best to drop the times and be in the fast group. It worked and I was like 14th or something with a time in the 1:41's. We had about two hours before qualifying, so again, the team came up with a strategy to give me the best that they could with the time allotted. I went out and put down a lap of 1:41.07 which was good enough for 12th on the grid."

Brian grabbed the 12th place on the pole and didn't let go of his rank. He finally finished 10th, in a very competitive race. "It was a good result, but I wasn't satisfied with my lap times. I know 39's are in the cards with this bike and I really wanted to find the speed to get there," he continues. "On the other hand it was great to finish 10th and we can work out those couple seconds as the season goes on. Maybe we can get in the top five in the Laguna Seca round in September."

Until his next AMA Formula Xtreme race catch Brian Parriott at California's own AFM races. For more information about AFM please visit www.afmracing.org. For information about all AMA races visit www.amaproracing.com. As always, visit www.BMWMotorcycles.com for the latest news in BMW Motorrad racing.

Photo credits: Steve Carlton and Will Guyan

This feature originally appeared in May 2008 - Updated: 03/13/10