The 2003 Sidecar Racers Association West Championship Review

By Vince Ho

Congratulations to Rick Murray/Mark Paget on winning the 2003 SRA West Championship

There were many new faces and rigs this year. Multiple US champion Rick Murray now had a new passenger in Mark Paget. Frank Riolo now piloted the former SRA-East winning LCR-Kawasaki rig with veteran Dennis Crueger. Doug Dano and passenger Pete Silva enters the championship with Wendy Epstein's K&K Drifter, under team Dawg Pound banners (and helmet ears!). Defending champion Wade Boyd continued with his twenty five years old Bevans-Suzuki. His San Francisco based Subculture racing team also included an old Fiddiman piloted by rookie Kyle Minor and his colorful passenger Zack Perezdiez, and an Isle of man F2 machine piloted by Jim Wood. Gary Woolf of Oregon brought his home made Woolf Suzuki to be passengered by Christine Eckman. Team5150 included a Taylor Kawasaki by Dave Quinn and Jamie Bowden, a Sutherland Kawasaki by John and Nicole Puckett, and a CSR-Yamaha rig of Kelly Bell/John Patterson. Roy Janes showed up with his son Matt in his Windle machine, while veteran Leon Vanorsdale would give his passenger Steve Stull his last taste of passengering before Steve took over the Murray-Kawasaki after the Las Vegas races. From Washington State Mike Gibson and partner Brian Whitley were determined to improve from last years results on their Fiddiman-Suzuki. Last but not least was the father and son team of William and Eric Becker who would race a modified version of their K&K Drifter.

Las Vegas:

Almost everybody was not ready for the first race of the season as quite a few of them failed to make the grid. Among them included Riolo who broke his LCR during warm-up. Riolo and Crueger were done for the weekend. Boyd and passenger Christine Blunck had to take over Jim Wood's rig as the Bevans had a blown engine. Boyd's race turned out to be short, as did Kelly Bell, who both blew their engines soon after the race start. The race was pretty much a procession as Murray/Paget cruised to a win, with the Beckers following them home. Gary Woolf had a surprise third. The next four rigs were a whole lot closer in the order of Dano/Silva, Gibson/Whitley, Puckett/Puckett, and Quinn/Bowden. VanOrsdale/Stull and Minor/Perezdiez finished eighth and ninth.

The following day it was an entire different matter. Bell had a new passenger in Christine Blunck, while Boyd was reunited with his regular passenger Rory O'Conner, and his Bevans machine. Both rigs had to start from the back, and both managed to pass everyone within a couple of laps! Bell/Blunck finally prevailed as they passed Boyd/O'Connor in the last lap. Meanwhile the Beckers also managed to pass Murray/Paget to take third. Further down the order, VanOrsdale/Stull caught the Pucketts at the very end to claim seventh behind Dano/Silva and Woolf/Eckman. Quinn/Bowden, Gibson/Whitley, Minor/Perezdiez, Wood/Whitley finished up the order.

Team Subculture Racing Fiddiman-Suzuki

Defending champion Wade Boyd in deep thoughts about his Bevans-Suzuki

Team Dawg Pound chilling out between practices

Rick Murray and Mark Paget working on their LCR-Suzuki

Kelly Bell/John Patterson (#14) and the Beckers (#84)

Seattle:

The following month the SRA racers arrived in Seattle for the next two rounds. Unfortunately the rain intervened, and everyone received five points for showing up on the grid. Kelly Bell/Christine Eckman were not one of them, but they made up for it by blowing away everyone in the second race the following day on their CSR-Yamaha. Murray/Paget finished ahead of William Becker (who was guest passengered by Rory O'Conner) to keep their championship leads. The local teams of Gibson/Whitley (Fiddiman-Suzuki) finished ahead of Chris May/Mike Schmidt (Taylor-Yamaha) and Brian Beck/Dawna Holloway. Doug Dano, who had a new passenger Tamara Teller because Pete Silva was injured during the practice of the first race, finished seventh. Quinn/Bowden finished eighth and last. Riolo/Crueger failed to finish again, and with four rounds gone, the odds-on favorite's championship hope is now becoming illusional. Gary Woolf had a new passenger, former champion Walter Garnett, but a disagreement with Don and Annette Radtke about track real estate saw Walter Garnett ended up in the hospital. The Radtke's K&K Drifter/BMW failed to continue.

Buttonwillow:

The next race weekends saw the SRA racers in southern California's Buttonwillow for the July 4th weekend. Team Subculture did not show up at all due to financial and mechanical problems. The first race saw Leon Vanorsdale could not get his Baker-Honda going, and ended up stuck in the pits. Leon's teammate Steve Stull and passenger Vince Ho did manage to start the race in the old Murray-Kawasaki. But all was for naught as Doug Dano/Christine Eckman stalled their K&K-Suzuki at the start. During the restart this time it was Stull/Ho who broke their chain and ended up pushing their rig to an escape road. The race itself was handily won by Frank Riolo/Dennis Crueger in a cakewalk. Rick Murray/Mark Paget, who had transmissions problems during warm-up, was unable to match the Beckers and had to settle for third. Doug Dano, now with Christine Eckman, continued to be right there with the veterans at the end, finishing fourth and fifth in the two races. Kelly Bell and John Patterson failed to finish.

The following day Riolo/Crueger got their LCR-Kawasaki going again and creamed the oppositions again. But this time Kelly Bell (with new passenger James Walker) gave a run for their money. Murray/Paget managed to get back at the Beckers and finished third. Next to come home were Dano/Eckman, Gibson/Whitley, and VanOrsdale/Bernie Thomas(who managed to get the Baker-Honda going!), and the rest of the runners.

Thunderhill 1

The next rounds now saw the sidecarists competing in thunderhill on August 16-17. On Saturday Frank Riolo/Dennis Crueger dominated the race and won comfortably from Boyd/O'Connor. Murray/Paget came home third. The Beckers suffered engine problems and failed to make the start, which was a whole lot better than Jerry Chinn/Jerry Walker when their Baker-Suzuki caught on fire during practice.

The following day saw Murray/Paget took the win, although Chris May/Mike Schmidt almost caught up with the former champions at the last lap. Riolo/Crueger suffered from mechanical failures and had to withdraw while leading, meanwhile Boyd/O'Connor had both engine failures and ended up watching the race between the first and second turns. To add insult over injury, their Bevans rig also sheered the sidecar wheel. The Beckers salvaged the weekend by coming home third after starting from the back of the grid, while the “Jerrys” also managed to clean up their burnt rig and finished a respectable fifth behind Team Dawgpound.

Jim Wood and the author discussed strategies against their bigger and more powerful rivals

Team Jerry's burnt out Baker rig

Doug Dano/Christine Eckman (Team Dawg Pound) in front of Frank Riolo/Dennis Crueger (Team Excalibur US)

Gibson/Whitley negotiates the esses

Murray/Paget #31 holding off May/Schmidt #2 and the Beckers #84

Spokane:

The next rounds would be in August 30/31 in Spokane, which counted for double points. This time nothing could stop Frank Riolo/Dennis Crueger as they took both rounds easily. The big news was that championship leader Murray/Paget suffered a DNF in the first race, while the Beckers finished third and fourth respectively for the two races, closing up the championship. May/Schmidt finished second in the first race, while Chinn/Walker finished third behind Murray/Paget in the second one. But for these two Washington state teams, the championship was now out of reach. Same thing also applied to defending champions Boyd/O'Connor, who finished seventh in both races, having to race their F2 machine because their Bevans was still in the shop. Doug Dano finished sixth in both races, first one with Christine Eckman, who actually ended up leading the passenger championship after the first race, but the two had a fall out overnight, and Dano would pair up with Tamara Teller for the second race. Eckman would not take a seat again for the rest of the season, leaving Paget to retake the passenger championship lead, which as it turned out he would never relinquish.

AFM Las Vegas:

The next round would be an AFM invitation race on September 20 in Las Vegas under the Great American Motorcycle Experience banner. With the exception of Seattle's Quinn/Bowden (Taylor-Kawasaki), everyone else who was not from California decided to stay home. Kelly Bell had another passenger, former champion Heather Belletto. The race turned out to be two races within a race. Bell/Belletto with their CSR gave Riolo/Crueger a run for their money, but ultimately fell short. Meanwhile, championship contenders Murray/Paget, Becker/Becker, Dano/O'Conner, finished third, fourth, and fifth respectively, keeping the driver championship close.

The Beckers negotiates a corner in Las Vegas (photo courtesy SRA-West)

Thunderhill 2:

The sidecar racers returned to Thunderhill on October 4/5. Again nothing could stop Riolo/Crueger from winning their home races. But it was Rick Murray/Mark Paget who finished second/third respectively in the two races that turned out to be crucial as they managed to stay ahead of their championship rivals Becker/Becker (3rd and 4th), and Dano (6th and 7th). Outgoing champions Wade Boyd/Rory O'Connor got their Bevans Suzuki from the shop and showed that their championship was no fluke last year by finishing up second in the second race.

Vanorsdale/Ho #29 chasing the Pucketts #51

Quinn/Bowden #50

Summary:

The October 5th race in Thunderhill turned out to be the final race of the season, as the Southern California wildfires forced CCS to cancel the final rounds in Buttonwillow. Team RGM won the driver (Rick Murray) and passenger championship (Mark Paget). By being the smoothest and the most consistent team, once again proves that experience counts. Bill and Eric Becker did well by using a tubular worm, while rookie Doug Dano finished third in the drivers championship despite having to change passenger numerous times. Frank Riolo finished fourth in a win or break year, while passenger Dennis Crueger finished third in the passenger championship. No doubt they will be the team to watch comes 2004.

As the 2003 season drew to a close the sidecar racers would like to thank the support of their sponsors, especially Barnett. SRA West is now looking forward to a busy and exciting racing schedule in 2004.

Final 2003 Standing:

Drivers:

1. Rick Murray (LCR-Suzuki) 442 2. Bill Becker (K&K Drifter-Suzuki) 434 3. Doug Dano (K&K Drifter-Suzuki) 416 4 Frank Riolo (LCR-Kawasaki) 362 5 Michael Gibson (Fiddiman-Suzuki) 336 6. Dave Quinn (Taylor-Kawasaki) 331 7. Gary Woolf (Woolf-Suzuki) 294 8. Wade Boyd (Bevans-Suzuki/F2 Kawasaki) 249 9. John Puckett (Sutherland-Kawasaki) 212 10. Jerry Chinn (Baker-Suzuki) 189 11. Leon VanOrsdale (RGM- Kawasaki/Baker-Honda) 186 12. Kelly Bell (CSR-Yamaha) 180 13. Roy Janes (Windle-Suzuki) 139 14. Chris May (Taylor-Yamaha) 122 15. Kyle Minor (Fiddiman-Kawasaki) 84 16. Steve Stull (RGM-Kawasaki) 63 17. James Wood (F2 Kawasaki) 40 18. Brian Beck (Suzuki) 24 19. Don Radtke (K&K Drifter-BMW) 5

Passengers:

1. Mark Paget (LCR-Suzuki) 442 2. Eric Becker (K&K Drifter-Suzuki) 405 3. Dennis Crueger (LCR-Kawasaki) 362 4. Brian Whitley (Fiddiman-Suzuki) 336 5. Janie Bowden (Taylor-Kawasaki) 334 6. Christine Eckman (Woolf-Suzuki/CSR-Yamaha/K&K Drifter-Suzuki) 306 7. Rory O'Conner (Bevans-Suzuki/K&K Drifter-Suzuki/F2 Kawasaki) 305 8. Nicole Puckett (Sutherland-Kawasaki) 212 9. Mike Schmidt (Taylor-Yamaha/Baker-Honda) 191 10. Jerry Walker (Baker-Suzuki) 189 11. Pete Silva (K&K Drifter-Suzuki/Windle-Suzuki) 148 12. Christine Blunck (F2 Kawasaki/CSR-Yamaha/Baker-Honda) 122 13. Zack Perezdiez (Fiddiman-Kawasaki) 84 14. Shawn Bakken (Windle-Suzuki) 43 15. Teresa Blair (RGM-Kawasaki) 40 16. Heather Belletto (CSR-Yamaha) 32 17. Matt Janes (Windle-Suzuki) 25 18(tie). Dawna Holloway (Suzuki) Vince Ho (F2 Kawasaki/Baker-Honda) 24 20. Walter Garnett (Woolf-Suzuki) 6. 21. Annette Radtke (K&K Drifter-BMW) 5 22. John Patterson (CSR-Yamaha) 3.

Champion Rick Murray and Mark Paget (photo courtesy SRA-West)

Champion Murray/Paget on their winning LCR-Suzuki in AFM Las Vegas (photo courtesy SRA-West)

All photos courtesy of Alcatraz Moto unless otherwise stated
About the author

Vince Ho is the President and resident instuctor of Alcatraz Moto in Oakland California, specializing in Sidecar Trike Education Training. In addition to sidecar training, instructor Vince also races in various classes of sidecar racing including SRA and minimoto, both as a driver and as a passenger. Vince has contributed to various magazines and websites such as the sidecarist.