AHRMA Bonneville Vintage GP Hosts SRA-West Sidecars An epic dogfight took place in the Formula Sidecar class between usual front runners Team Becker Moto Works (William Becker/Aaron McEwen) and Team Johnny Killmore (John Wood/Giorgina Gottlieb) on Miller Motorsports Park’s East Course at the Bonneville Vintage GP hosted by AHRMA and CPL Systems. With Becker Moto Works normal passenger Eric Becker unable to attend, rookie Aaron McEwen (normally a passenger for Wood Brothers Racing, who were not in attendance) was put in the hot seat for the double-header weekend on America’s fastest road-racing sidecar. McEwen rode brilliant races both days, but having a 30lbs lighter passenger forced William Becker to dig deep and modify his driving style in order to keep his home-built machine on the top step of the podium. Saturday’s 6-lap race saw Team Johnny Killmore take off to an early lead. After 2 laps of working through traffic however, Becker was in the hunt and began a systematic attack on the gap between himself and the leaders. Arriving on Wood/Gottlieb’s tail while picking up the crossed flags, Becker set upon them relentlessly. In the slow left turns he easily had the measure of them, but late braking antics by Wood was forcing Becker to find a way to capitalize on this advantage. The back half of the track seemed to belong to Wood/Gottlieb, where a small gap would reappear. As the pair left the final corner to pick up the white flag, Becker/McEwen got a stellar drive and used it to move inside on the brakes in turn 1. From then on the gap grew noticeably. Driver John Wood later cited arm pump and a numb throttle hand for the slowing. The slowing almost cost his team the second spot on the podium however, and Team RGM (Rick Murray/ Evelyne Scholz) came from seemingly nowhere in the closing moments to miss second place by only two bike lengths. This was truly an impressive performance. Although Murray is a multi-time series champion, he remains semi-retired from racing, and had just recently come from the Bonneville Salt flats where he set a class record at over 158mph. Passenger Evelyne Scholz was also making a one-off appearance after breaking the 200mph mark on a Suzuki Hayabusa. Sunday’s race seemed to be more of the same in the beginning laps. Becker/McEwen were through the field quickly this time though and set upon Wood/Gottlieb immediately. Sunday morning practice was used wisely by Team Johnny Killmore however, as they had found a new line out of the final corner that gave them a slightly better drive. The gap would stretch out through most of each lap, but Becker would have his machine on the leader’s tail in the last turn each time, searching for the drive he needed to get the inside for turn 1. He showed the nose each lap until lap 4, where he pulled a banzai charger deep into the first corner and made it stick. Amazingly, Team Johnny Killmore stayed glued to the new leader’s tail and looked to the inside on one occasion. Coming down the front straight to pick up the white flag, Wood/ Gottlieb absolutely threw their machine into turn 1, taking the lead. The tight line they were on forced them to scrub speed though, and Becker remained on the outside, not giving an inch. As Wood began the drive out of turn 1 he was unaware of this and forced Becker out onto the curbs. Without missing a beat Becker accelerated over the ruble strip as the two machines made contact. Spectators in turn 1 later claimed they could see the entire underside of Wood/Gottlieb’s machine as they touched. A mistake by Wood into turn 4- aptly named “Maybe You’ll Make It”- would end the show and Becker McEwen would pull off the double win with more than a three-second gap. Murray/Scholz bogged on the start and finished a distant but satisfying 3rd place after working through the field. With only two doubleheader rounds remaining in the SRA-West Formula Sidecar Series, there still remains a mathematical possibility for several drivers to take the crown. With 35 points separating William Becker from John Wood, it would most likely take a DNF on Becker’s part to allow Wood to close the gap. Entering this round 3rd in the driver standings, Steve Stull will fall back to 4th after a DNS on Saturday.This moves rookie driver Donn Sayre into the slot. Stull has consistently finished ahead of Sayre this season however, which means a battle in the remaining races will decide which driver takes third. The passenger standings are now extremely close as well. Eric Becker retains his lead despite missing this round of the championship, but by only four points. Taking over passenger duties for this event has pushed Aaron McEwen into second, only two points shy of the lead. Heidi Neidhoefer sits in 3rd, only two more points adrift from McEwen. Neidhoefer will need to find a ride for the next round of the championship to stay in the fight, as her normal driver- Michael Troutman- will not be in attendance. The SRA-West championship moves to Chuckwalla Valley Raceway for its next bout, with a double-header event scheduled for October 20-21 with Chuckwalla Valley Motorcycle Association (CVMA). For a full schedule and standings, visit www.sra-west.us. The SRA-West would like to thank AHRMA and its organizers for their support of sidecar road racing, and CPL Systems for their support of AHRMA and historic motorcycle racing. RESULTS: Saturday, September 1: Driver/Passenger (Chassis/Engine) 1. William Becker/Aaron McEwen (Becker/Suzuki) 2. John Wood/Giorgina Gottlieb (Windle/Suzuki) 3. Rick Murray Evelyne Sholz (LCR/Suzuki) 4. Michael Troutman/Heidi Neidhoefer (CSR/Suzuki) 5. Donn Sayre/John Heenan (Baker/Suzuki) 6. Harold Skjorshamer/Rolf Nedebro (Baker/Suzuki 750) 7. Sean Bakken/ Gary McEwen (Spike/Yamaha) 8. Bernard Juchli/ Kevin Kautzky (CSR/Honda) 9. Scott Lane/ Elizabeth Herlocker (Becker/ Suzuki) 10. Larry Campbell/Larry Campbell (Ozzie/BMW, vintage) Sunday, September 2: 1. William Becker/Aaron McEwen (Becker/Suzuki) 2. John Wood/Giorgina Gottlieb (Windle/Suzuki) 3. Rick Murray Evelyne Sholz (LCR/Suzuki) 4. Michael Troutman/Heidi Neidhoefer (CSR/Suzuki) 5. Donn Sayre/John Heenan (Baker/Suzuki) 6. Sean Bakken/ Gary McEwen (Spike/Yamaha) 7. Steven Stull/ Russ Granger (Baker/Honda) 8. Bernard Juchli/ Kevin Kautzky (CSR/Honda) 9. Harold Skjorshamer/Rolf Nedebro (Baker/Suzuki 750) 10. Scott Lane/ Elizabeth Herlocker (Becker/ Suzuki) 11. Larry Campbell/Larry Campbell (Ozzie/BMW, vintage)