ROSAMOND, CA

No one at "the fastest road in the West" could remember the last time a 600cc machine had taken the top step of the podium in the premier Formula One class, but the 50-hp disadvantage did little to hamper Karl Lowry (2, above) from taking a commanding win. There wasn't much to indicate such a breakout performance was about to happen, since the majority of Lowry's competitors would be racing in different classes throughout the day. Lowry had set a new 600cc record earlier in the day, but fans rarely compare lap times between "big bikes" and "little bikes." When Lowry decided to take his 600 to the eight-lap Formula One event, the "little bike vs. liter bike" battle gave the fans reason to crowd the pit wall.

Within the first half of the race, the field spread out quite a bit, but all eyes were up front, as Lowry and his Graves-backed Yamaha R6 laid down times more than a full second faster than those of eventual second-place finisher Chris Duran, mounted on a Yamaha R1. The gap would stretch to more than 11 seconds, with Lowry laying down a best time of 1:21.568 despite a heavy breeze that tends to upset bikes through the high-speed turn eight. Although Lowry easily took the win, it was Duran who garnered the real prize, after his marriage proposal from the podium (and over the track's PA system) was accepted.

The SRA-West Formula Sidecar class also returned for round six of its series, with eight of the three-wheeled machines making the start. Early leader John Wood was easy to spot, with rookie passenger Josh Fogle wearing the bright green novice shirt. After going wide in turn three on the second lap, second- and third-place drivers William Becker and Wade Boyd went the long way around Wood, not completing the pass until turn five, where he went wide again. Wood later joked that he was camera-shy after mounting an HD unit from rpmgear.com. Regardless of the actual reason, it was now Becker and Boyd fighting for the win.

It was expected that the usual dogfight would ensue, but it was not to be. Boyd had taken several weeks away to race on two wheels at a public road course in Argentina, while Becker managed to find more speed. The gap would remain small, but at the end of the six-lap race, Becker won with just under a two-second gap, with Wood a further 2.5 seconds adrift.

WSMC will return to the much tighter 1.8-mile Streets of Willow course on June 19 and 20, with SRA Sidecars beginning a summer break, returning to racing at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah at the AHRMA Bonneville GP. For more information, go to www.wsmcracing.com or www.sra-West.us.

Results

NEW RACERS: 1. Christian Readyhoff; 2. Tyler Shaffer; 3. Matthias Beier; 4. Donnie Belansky; 5. Scott Muzzy.

600 MOD PROD: 1. Karl Lowry; 2. Bryce Prince; 3. Chris Duran; 4. Jeremy Simmons; 5. Justin Simons.

750 MOD PROD: 1. Ken Kramer; 2. Ryan Gagliano; 3. Frank Gray; 4. J.C. Gibbs; 5. David Tovar.

OPEN MOD PROD: 1. Scott Tillery; 2. Matt Quigley; 3. Jaime Mantel; 4. Gary Orr; 5. Thomas Lusich.

BOTT L/W: 1. Michael Gougis; 2. Mike Blankenship; 3. Sean Fader; 4. Paul Merwin; 5. Josh Fogle.

BOTT M/W: 1. Jim Chaconas; 2. David Ortiz; 3. Gary Orr; 4. Dean Wallace; 5. Ed Salas.

BOTT H/W: 1. Matt Cusamano; 2. Mauro Deviasso; 3. Michael Sirolli; 4. Douglas F. Hay; 5. Brian Larrabure.

550 S/BK: 1. Chris Speights; 2. Troy Siahaan; 3. Jason Zambanini; 4. Charles Fathy; 5. Tony Moniz.

650 S/BK: 1. Bryce Prince; 2. Jeremy Simmons; 3. Jamie Le Blanc; 4. Brad MacArthur; 5. Danny Sillett.

OPEN S/BK: 1. Karl Lowry; 2. Chris Duran; 3. Scott Tillery; 4. Pete Curtis; 5. Jaime Mantel.

L/W TW: 1. Chris Speights; 2. Michael Gougis; 3. Troy Siahaan; 4. Charles Fathy; 5. Al Garcia.

H/W TW: 1. Matt Cusumano; 2. Mauro Deviasio; 3. Michael Sirolli; 4. Mario Vindeni; 5. Dean Wallace.

600 S/STK: 1. Karl Lowry; 2. Chris Duran; 3. Bryce Prince; 4. Brant Wiwi; 5. Jeremy Simmons.

750 S/STK: 1. Chris Duran; 2. Brant Wiwi; 3. Ken Kramer; 4. Ryan Gagliano; 5. J.C. Gibbs.

OPEN S/STK: 1. Brant Wiwi; 2. Matt Quigley; 3. Gary Orr; 4. Thomas Lusich; 5. Jeremy Ayers.

500 SGL: 1. David Ortiz; 2. Mario Vindeni; 3. Ernie Snair; 4. Lance Lewman; 5. Scott Fabbro.

660 SGL: 1. Daniel Beck; 2. Mike Blankenship; 3. Paul Merwin; 4. Richard Downer; 5. Cody Burton.

VINT L/W: 1. Brian Herzfeldt; 2. Sean Fader; 3. Mark Duncan; 4. David So; 5. Brett Nusz.

F-1: 1. Karl Lowry; 2. Chris Duran; 3. Brant Wiwi; 4. Scott Tillery; 5. Matt Cusumano.

F-40 H/W: 1. Frank Gray; 2. Jaime Mantel; 3. Ken Kramer; 4. Gary Orr; 5. Jerry Mendzer.

F-40 L/W: 1. Hugo Mosquera; 2. Jim Small; 3. Tania Davidson; 4. Mark Hill; 5. Richard Stampp.

F-50: 1. Howard Lynggard; 2. Stephen Hewitt; 3. Frank Laster; 4. Rocky Caceres; 5. Michael Reed.

SDCR: 1. William Becker/Eric Becker; 2. Wade Boyd/Christine Blunk; 3. John Wood/Josh Fogle; 4. Michael Troutman/unknown; 5. Leon Van Orsdale/Steve Stull.