Xerox Ducati’s Troy Bayliss has beaten riders of 1000cc four-cylinder machines and won eight straight races on his factory 999, en route to leading this year’s Superbike World Championship. Parts Unlimited Ducati’s Ben Bostrom and Neil Hodgson, meanwhile, have struggled staying with 1000cc four-cylinder machines on their Ducati 999s in the AMA Superbike Championship and have only one podium finish between them this year. Among the many differences in the situations of the two teams, Bayliss’ Ducati runs a traction control system, and Bostrom’s and Hodgson’s Ducatis do not have traction control systems. The legalization of traction control today by AMA Pro Racing, therefore, could potentially improve the results of Ducati’s AMA Superbike team starting at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. That is, if the system is available and if Parts Unlimited Ducati decides to use it, according to Bostrom. “We’re supposed to just go race without testing it? That’s insane,” Bostrom told Roadracingworld.com. Asked if his team was going to use a traction control system on its Ducatis at Laguna Seca, Bostrom said, “That’s what I’m wondering, too. It depends, for one, as long as we have the parts. I guess inventory [at Ducati Corse, in Italy] could send them straight over. I’ll talk to the boys on Wednesday and see what the team wants to do. Me, I don’t care, honestly, but obviously, I always prefer to go test. “It could [help us]. It could, but there’s still other problems. We’re still racing against 1000cc four-cylinders, and we’re on [1000cc] Twins. That doesn’t quite add up. So there’s always going to be something stacked against [us] there. But if it does give us any kind of improvement, hey, that’s an improvement. “Plus, normally, I spin the back end to help point the bike. So now, if you can’t violently spin the back tire like that anymore, maybe it hurts your steering, right? There’s a lot to consider with it. “People get all strange, like we’re going to suddenly go 10 seconds a lap faster. It’s not going to be like that.” Bostrom added that he had fully recovered from the hip injury he suffered when he highsided in third gear during the Superbike race June 18 at Miller Motorsports Park. “I felt like I cracked my hip, but I was too lazy to go to the doctor,” said Bostrom. “I’m golden now. I’m good, but the first couple of weeks I couldn’t even walk.”