From a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin, dated March 18 but actually issued on March 19:

ERIC BOSTROM TESTS MICHELINS AT BARBER

Birmingham (Alabama) – March 18, 2004: Eric Bostrom tested the Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin 999 for the first time at Barber Motorsports Park today, putting in 71 laps at the fast and flowing track under overcast but mild conditions. With this being the first true road course for Bostrom on the 999, the focus was on the front end and continuing to get Eric comfortable with the bike on a track new to the 999.

The 27-year-old Bostrom from Las Vegas, Nevada had ridden the 2.3-mile track only once before in a short practice session, having missed last season’s final race at the Alabama venue due to injury. “It was fun to shake the 999 down on a real road course type track,” said an enthusiastic Bostrom.

The track, repaved late last year, created a specific challenge in tire selection. “It’s just unfortunate that the track is so green. It feels different from the brief test I did here on the old pavement,” said Bostrom. “With so many blind drop-away turns, it’s a challenging track to learn and judging the correct corner entry speed is critical. We made good progress today and I had a great time pushing the bike hard on this course.”

Italian race engineer Luca Ferraccioli explained, “With the condition of the repaved track we are concentrating on finding the correct front tire. Michelin has more front tires for us to try tomorrow so we will continue focusing on that.”

The two-day test concludes on Friday.