More On Ben Bostrom Hitting John Jacobi At Barber

More On Ben Bostrom Hitting John Jacobi At Barber

© 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

After watching the second Superbike race at Barber, it sure seems to me that Ben Bostrom owes John Jacobi, Dean Mizdal and Miguel Duhamel a huge apology for that move.

John Jacobi is right, the race is as important to himself and his team as it is to the factories, and that does not mean they own the racetrack.

Ben made a mistake, and we have all done that. But I am sick and tired of the factory guys always blaming someone else for their mistakes. It would be nice for once if someone would just say “I screwed up, I couldn’t let Kurtis get away and I tried something I should not have.”

I and alot of other people would have a lot of respect for that.

If they (the 3 lapped riders) had indeed seen the blue flag and then Kurtis comes by on the outside you wouldn’t expect to get drilled on the inside when the line was sorta out a bit (except for Ben’s line).

Again, Ben just needs to say “I screwed up.” Yes, it was racing, but just accept the blame.

Greg Esser
AMA 250cc GP #26
Pompano Beach, Florida



FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I was watching the Speed Channel coverage of this when it happened. The first thing that occurred to me was: Why, if three teammates are running 1-2-3 with 4th place some seconds back, was Ben Bostrom so hot on Miguel Duhamel’s tail? He took a chance on an inside line, and it didn’t pan out. Unfortunately, it took out his teammate as well.

I saw John Jacobi’s email on your site and am amazed that anyone is even contemplating giving him grief for this incident. “That’s racing” is the only response.

Maybe lapped riders, IF they are willing to compromise their own racing line, AND they are willing to hold up for leaders to pass, AND they know there may be additional lead-lap riders coming up on them (in addition to the one that just passed him on the outside…) could possibly use a line that allows a really aggressive racer to go by on the inside. I did this when I was racing, but I was a CCS Amateur with a couple of seasons experience.

Asking, or even implying, that an AMA Expert who regularly qualifies for Superbike races should do the same is unacceptable. In this case a blue flag would have been worthless since there were not one, not two, but three racers on the lead lap passing him at almost the same time. How was John to know how many other riders were about to pass him, or where to compromise to make it less dangerous? The only answer is to race his own line and have the overtaking riders deal with it, just like the racing school instructors tell students.

CP Tomes
North Liberty, Iowa



FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I agree totally with John Jacobi’s comments. I believe Miguel Duhamel owes him an apology for his ranting and raving. Ben Bostrom clearly caused the chain-reaction crash-fest per the replay I saw so I applaud John for sticking up for himself when he feels wronged. I do believe that Ben will admit causing the crash because I’ve personally met him and he is a stand-up guy.

Blue flags are in order AMA, get the hint? MotoGP does it, WSB does it, so, for once pull your finger out and do it, too!

Darick Pash
CMRA #123 Amateur
Abilene, Texas


FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

This past weekend I drove 16 hours from just north of Toronto, Ontario Canada to spend three days as a spectator at the inaugural AMA Superbike race at the Barber Motorsports facility. After spending the weekend there with a few friends, I am left with a few questions along with comments.

First off, why do all the Factory pro riders feel the need to complain about the amount of backmarkers in the field? Do they not realize that without them, it may be a little empty out there on the racetrack? If it is as big a problem as they make it out to be, then why aren’t they complaining to Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki? If the other manufacturers followed the lead of the U.S. Honda team and fielded three factory Superbikes, the depth and pace of the riders on the track would greatly improve, thus reducing the amount of slower riders. Where the hell does Yamaha put their racing budget, anyway? If the “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” belief is really true, well, then I see no reason why they couldn’t field Hacking and Buckmaster on R1 Superbikes. Forget about FX, no one watches it anyway. Does the average fan really know the difference between that and Superbike? Lay off the privateers, it’s their own time, own money and I’m sure just about any one of them out there could easily win Regional or Club Pro races.

Overall I quite enjoyed the weekend in Alabama. I liked the fact that Rich Oliver and Michael Barnes had the decency to actually thank George Barber for building the track. I liked the fact that Mat Mladin was able to win his record 4th Championship. I enjoyed watching Shawn Higbee, Jordan Szoke and a few other privateers ride their asses off. But most of all, I just liked being at that amazing facility. From a spectator and a racer, thank you, George Barber.

By the way, I tried to take advantage of your subscription promo there, but she said it wasn’t open to Canadians so I bought the current issue and a T-shirt instead. Thanks for doing such a great job with the magazine and more importantly, the Airfence fund. Job well done.

Jesse Lauder
District Sales Manager, Parts Canada
Barrie H-D/Buell Canadian Pro Thunder #11

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