By John Cameron SRA-West Race Report: Round 4 May 15, 2011 Rosamond, California: Team Becker Moto Works (#84) increased their points lead as the SRA-West returned to Willow Springs Raceway for a 6-lap sprint race hosted by Willow Springs Motorcycle Club. Saturday practice gave no surprises to the father/ son duo of William and Eric Becker as they set the pace for the eight-machine grid. A bit of drama showed itself lat in the day however, as second place overall Team Johnny Killmore (#187 John Wood/ Giorgina Gottlieb) seemed to struggle throughout the day. Rookie passenger Giorgina Gottlieb was said to be suffering from a lingering cold that got gradually worse as the day progressed. For Sunday’s race Gottlieb would be forced to sit out the event, leaving rookie passenger Heidi Niedhoefer to stand in with minimal practice time. Due to Becker Moto Works’ decision to start from the back of the grid, Team Johnny Killmore was able to holeshot from the front row and lead the field in overcast conditions. A battle seemed likely between the early leaders and Bad Cat Racing (#3 Michael Jones/ Brandon Mathews), but vision problems for driver Mike Jones would cause him to fall back. By lap 3 the leaders were all alone, but Becker Moto Works had finally worked their way through the field and were absolutely charging to the front. A big slide by Team Johnny Killmore in Turn 4 would almost send them off course, but they managed to recover. It was obvious to anyone watching they were pushing as hard as they could. The gap was now rapidly closing and it seemed certain a lead change was inevitable. True to form, the Becker duo closed in the final few yards in infamous Turn 9, and used the drive of their home-built machine to power passed Team Johnny Killmore just in time to pick up the white flag. The two machines would stay quite close for the final lap, but each turn allowed Becker to pull a few lengths, finishing the race with a comfortable margin. Afterward, both teams admitted they were pushing as hard as they could. Second place driver John Wood said, “the cool temps made the first lap really sketchy as the tires warmed up, and some oil dry in turn 1 was causing me to change my line. Despite that, we ran consistent lap times. We almost spun in turn 4 though, and after that I started seeing Becker in my mirror. Still, (passenger) Heidi did an awesome job with only two practice sessions, so hats off to her.” The SRA-West takes a long summer break now before meeting again at Miller Motorsports Park’s East Course for the Bonneville GP hosted by AHRMA (www.bonnevillevintagegp.com). In the meantime, SRA-West members will be participating in the famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (www.ppihc.com) as well as Speed Week on the Bonneville Salt Flats. For more information on sidecar road racing, points, and schedule, go to www.sra-west.us. RESULTS: Driver/ Passenger (Chassis/ Engine) 1. #84 Bill Becker/ Eric Becker (Becker/Suzuki) 2. #187 John Wood/ Heidi Niedhoefer (Windle/ Suzuki) 3. #3 Michael Jones/ Brandon Mathews (Becker/Suzuki) 4. #66 Sean Bakken/ Gary McEwen (Spike/ Yamaha) 5. #321 Donn Sayre/ Steve Stull (Baker/ Suzuki) 6. #49 Chris Wood/ Steve Wood (ART/ Suzuki) 7. #29 Leon VanOrsdale/ Kevin Kautzky-Starr (Baker/ Honda)