From a press release issued by Eric Bostrom’s manager, Norm Viano:

Eric back from Europe

September 4, 2002 – Las Vegas, NV. Arriving back in the States a bit sore and frustrated is Kawasaki Superbike rider, Eric Bostrom. The three weeks he spent in Europe didn’t turn out to be quite the vacation he was looking for. “It’s been a miserable trip all the way through, from boat wreck to bike wreck.”

After winning the last AMA Superbike race of the season, Eric flew to Sardinia to meet brother Ben for a short vacation. The two were planning on enjoying their time together and were training hard in preparation for the German WSB race at Oschersleben. It all went horribly wrong, however, when Eric, Ben, and (friend) Kat were involved in a boating accident near Sardinia. “Basically, we were out in a dingy, going from one island to the next, when a high speed power boater ran us over from behind. The guy was truly reckless. He didn’t even help us get out of the water right away, either.” A last-second leap from the boat and subsequent collision left Kat with a punctured lung, broken ribs, and a concussion. While more than a bit beaten up themselves, Ben and Eric were able to get Kat to safety and medical attention. As a result of all this, Eric arrived at Oschersleben more than just a little sore and concerned about the recovery of his friend, Kat.

On Friday, during practice and qualifying, Eric was so sore, in fact, that he could hardly ride the bike. On Saturday, however, a few hours under the watchful eye and hand of Team Eckl Kawasaki’s sports trainer had Eric feeling much better and ready to put in some fast practice laps. Unfortunately, both his recovery and his weekend were cut short by a highside during Saturday’s qualifying that left Eric with a broken scaphoid. “I just started learning the circuit and was feeling good finally, when the bike spit me off. I was on warm, used tires, going slow on the first lap out. It’s strange. I’m still trying to figure out what happened. I wasn’t on the throttle or on the (rear) brakes.”

Fortunately, the fracture in his wrist was minor and Dr. Costa (SBK’s road racing doctor) indicated that the injury should heal within a few weeks without surgery. When asked what hurts, Eric replied, “Everything! Nothing’s that bad, but just banged up from the boating and bike accident. Mainly I’m just waiting for the wrist to get better. It seems pretty good already.”

Considering how his trip went and that he hasn’t been home since before the Virginia AMA round, is Eric happy to be home? “No, not under these circumstances. I like being at home but I would have liked to have had some good results and a little better time while I was over there. The feeling I had at Laguna of leading a world championship race has only made me hungrier to compete against the world’s best,” he said.

Considering how quickly he was coming to speed at a track that he has never visited, he was hopeful to earn some good results for Kawasaki. Eric describes his first time on the track (in Friday’s practice session) like this. “I was so anxious to get on the bike because I hadn’t been on it in three weeks. It was the first lap out and Ben led the way out of the garage with everyone in tow. It was funny because I was like, “Come on, Ben, get out of my way!” I passed him on the back straight and Ben was pretty surprised. He was like, “You didn’t even know where you were going and you were passing me on the first lap!”

That’s a rivalry that more than one fan may be looking forward to next year.