Eric Bostrom’s Kawasaki Team, On His World Superbike Race At Monza

Eric Bostrom’s Kawasaki Team, On His World Superbike Race At Monza

© 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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From a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

BOSTROM IMPRESSES AS WALKER CURSES HIS LUCK

Drafted into the Fuchs Kawasaki team as a temporary replacement for Hitoyasu Izutsu, Eric Bostrom found himself flying the Kawasaki flag alone in race one at Monza this afternoon, after teammate Chris Walker was punted into the gravel by an over enthusiastic Marco Borciani just three laps from the chequered flag.

Bostrom, who was also T-boned by the Italian earlier in the race at the first chicane, eventually crossed the finish line in eighth place, after closing to within a tenth of a second of Gregorio Lavilla on the final lap.

‘I got jumped at the start by my own teammate – from two rows further back on the grid,’ said Bostrom. ‘I guess I’ll be looking for a better start in race two later. Once we got going I thought I might be able to follow Ruben Xaus away from the group I was battling with, but then Chris stuffed it up the inside of me at the Parabolica and Xaus got away from us both. It was real hard in the latter part of the race. I was having a good dice with Antonello; he was real good on the brakes but not so fast down the straights and it was difficult to find a way past him. Then, running into the first chicane, Borciani ran in way too hot, T-boned me and put us both on the grass. He was riding well beyond both himself and his bike and the inevitable happened; it’s just a shame he had to take Chris with him when he did eventually crash.’

Walker’s race started well, with the 30-year-old British rider launching his Fuchs Kawasaki ZX-7RR from fifteenth place on the grid straight through the second row and onto the back of the fast starters from the front row. After a brief battle with his team-mate, Walker looked set to finish the race as the top four-cylinder rider, when Borciani ran too hot into the Lesmo curve and clipped his rear wheel.

‘I got the start I needed and managed to keep out of trouble in the chicanes during the first few laps,’ said Walker. ‘Things were going well until three laps from the end when Borciani made a mistake and ran into the back of me at Lesmo, bringing us both off. We crashed on a real fast part of the circuit, so I guess I was lucky to walk away with just a bit of bruising on my left hand. It’s disappointing because I’d been on for a good result up until that point.’

In the second outing of the day, Bostrom managed to get his Fuchs Kawasaki away from the line with the leading group, before making up further places on the entry to the first chicane. After battling with Lucio Pedercini and Gregorio Lavilla for almost the whole of the 18-lap race, the Californian eventually crossed the line in seventh place.

‘I got a much better start in race two, although I did almost run into Colin Edwards in the first chicane as a result,’ said Bostrom. ‘I was a lot more aggressive on the entry this time, running over the curb on the right before picking the bike up to go through the left. Unfortunately, Colin was right where I was aiming for and I had to run wide to miss him. I was giving it everything I had out there and it felt real good running with the guys in the early stages. But then the rear tyre started giving me a bit of trouble four laps in and I ended up battling for the rest of the race with Lavilla and Pedercini; who I’d have passed on the final lap if I had only been a little more aggressive.

‘I’m looking forward to my next World Superbike outing at Silverstone, I just need to be a little more aggressive, a little more consistent and to find a bit more speed – a bit of everything really,’ continued the Californian.

For Chris Walker, the bad luck that saw him crash out of the first race continued for race two. Ground clearance problems, caused by a wayward exhaust bracket, meant that Walker was unable to achieve maximum lean angle around right-handers during the early part of the race. By the time he’d managed to grind the offending item away on the track, the leading two groups of riders had disappeared into the distance. Despite a problem that would have caused many a less determined rider to return immediately to the pits, Walker hung on to score a creditable tenth place finish.

‘After being knocked off in race one I really wanted a good result in race two,’ said Walker. ‘But, when I tipped into the chicane for the first time, part of the exhaust dug in and lifted the rear tyre off the track. I gave it another go at the following right-hander, only to suffer the same problem. After that I just had to take it a bit steady, until I eventually managed to grind away the part of the exhaust that was digging in three laps from the end.’

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