From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

BOSTROM RETAINS FOURTH-OVERALL RANKING AFTER TOUGH WEEKEND

Lexington (Ohio) – Sunday July 25, 2004: Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom finished seventh in Sunday’s AMA Superbike race at Mid-Ohio and maintained his fourth-overall standing after the weekend. Bostrom achieved the same result as in Saturday’s 26 lap race despite the cooler conditions and threat of rain at the 2.4 mile circuit.

“It wasn’t any better today. We tried some new things for this race and the grip at the rear was much better, but we had some real moments out there. I tried to push harder but I lost the front a few times and had to save it with my knee,” said the former Mid-Ohio race winner. “With things being the way they were, there wasn’t much more for us to smile about today.”

The recently resurfaced Mid-Ohio track with its combination of asphalt and concrete made finding an ideal set-up for the Michelin-shod Ducati 999R challenging.

“We’re all frustrated because we want better results,” said Racing Manager Tom Bodenbach. “The team isn’t satisfied and Eric isn’t satisfied. We’ll be doing a lot of testing before the next round and hopefully we can get the front working the way Eric needs for it to so we can put the bike where it belongs.”

An upcoming test at Road Atlanta will give the crew a chance to continue development work. The team’s race shop is just outside the Braselton, Georgia track and the circuit is the site of the next AMA Superbike round.

“I’m looking forward to the testing we’ll do before the next race,” said Eric, who won last year at the southern venue. “Road Atlanta is one of my favorite tracks and hopefully we can get some things accomplished there.”

Round 10 (races 15 and 16) of the AMA Superbike championship will take place at Road Atlanta on September 3-5.


RACE: 1. Mladin (Suzuki); 2. Duhamel (Honda); 3. Yates (Suzuki); 4. B Bostrom (Honda); 5. Zemke (Honda); 6. Hayes (Kawasaki); 7. E Bostrom (Ducati); etc. RACE 2: 1. Zemke (Honda); 2. B Bostrom (Honda); 3. Mladin (Suzuki); 4. Yates (Suzuki); 5. Hayes (Kawasaki); 6. Holden (Suzuki); 7. E Bostrom (Ducati); etc.

POINTS: 1. Mladin 457; 2. Zemke 436; 3. Duhamel 413; 4. E Bostrom 336; 5. B Bostrom 306; 6. May 299; etc.


More, from a press release issued by Larry Pegram’s publicist:

Yamaha Privateer, Larry Pegram left the AMA Superbike weekend at Mid-Ohio, as the top finishing Yamaha in both Superbike races and the Formula Xtreme race held on Saturday.

“I had to run my back-up bike in FX, which is a stock Supersport bike. My main bike was down on power all weekend and ultimately this was the best choice since I was able to finish 4th.” Said Pegram. Larry who is solidly in 5th for the season, should be able to maintain that position through the end of the season. “If I had a bigger budget my R6 would be right up with the leaders, however I will continue to make the best with the resources I have.”

In Superbike, Pegram qualified 9th and then backed that up with a 10th on Saturday and an excellent 8th on Sunday. “We were having some rear grip problems most of the weekend. In Sunday’s race I was going after Eric Bostrom for a while until my tires started to go away. I backed it off a bit and brought it home in 8th.” Continued Pegram. “I tested a new slipper clutch this weekend that I think will have real potential in the final rounds in September. I want to thank my sponsors, Triangle Cycles, Pirelli, Yamaha, Ferodo/Brake Tech and all my volunteers that help me out in the pits.”


More, from a series of press releases issued by Proforma:

ACREE AND CAYLOR HAVE HIGHS AND LOWS AT MID-OHIO

Suzuki teammates Lee Acree and Opie Caylor had highs and lows in their results on the second day of the Chevrolet Superbike Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Lee had the highs, with a season-best ninth place finish in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport race and 11th in the Chevrolet Superbike event. Opie had the lows, finishing 20th in the Superbike race after battling traction issues throughout the 26-lap event.

Lee Acree
Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Final – 9th Place
“My first start was the best of the three,” said Lee. “I actully went the fastest in the last segment, and that was the only time I didn’t have a fresh tire on at least one end of the bike. It took me a long time to get around (Chris) Peris, and then I just started to try to run down Ty (Howard) and (Jason) Perez. I was closing on them gradually, and the first red flag came out. The second time, I was racing with Ty and he missed a shift or put it into neutral out of (turn) one, and I was almost touching his pipe when he missed the shift, and so I nearly clobbered him. And then my front wheel was outside his rear wheel so I couldn’t cross over and I’m slowing down, and Danny (Eslick) goes by. I get back by Danny, and then we had another red flag. Then the last time, I was trying to get back up on Darren Luck and Perez and Darren piled it and took Perez with him. The next start it was initially me and Ty and Chris Peris, and I actually got around Ty, then Ty came past and also went around Chris. I was on Peris the lap before the red flag, but I couldn’t get by him without hitting him.”

Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 11th Place
“The biggest difference from yesterday was that the changes made it handle the full fuel load substantially better,” said Lee. “I was kinda sittin’ on Eric (Wood) and Geoff(May), there were some places they were stonger than I was, but there were some places I was stronger. Even before Geoff went off the track, I don’t know if Eric kinda smelled the blood in the water and he started kinda goin’ away. I should have tried to force the issue with Geoff and get on by and go with Eric. I don’t know for sure that I had the remaining traction, because the tires were starting to go off before half-way. I ran pretty soft tires.”

Opie Caylor
Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 20th Place
“What a frustrating day,” said Opie. “We tried a different rear tire and it felt like it was flat. When I would roll through the corners I could feel the back end hopping. I couldn’t carry any corner speed. I had nothing for anybody, we just went backwards.”


GEOFF MAY HAS FORGETTABLE DAY AT MID-OHIO

Geoff May had, what is for him, another bad day at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Until yesterday, Geoff had finished in the top-ten of every Superbike race this year, so a 13th place finish, after yesterday’s 12th, is not acceptable to him.

Sunday’s Repsol Superstock Final – DNS
Geoff didn’t have the resources to run the class this weekend, focusing instead on the Superbike class.

Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 13th Place
“Nightmare at Mid-Ohio,” joked Geoff. “I made some changes, and I did about five laps in practice, and I thought it was good. Apparently, when the shock got hot in the race, it was definitely the wrong way, because the tire shredded on the edges and I had no side grip. The bike was the most horrible thing I’ve ever ridden. I just kept chasing (Eric) Wood and trying to hang with him. We were catching Larry (Pegram) and (John) Haner. Going down the back straight I tried to make some time on the brakes and I hit a false neutral, tried to coast through the corner in neutral, lost the front, stood it up and ran off the track. Got it back on track as quick as I could. When I got back on, the tires were so slippery I almost crashed a couple of times.”


MID-OHIO NOT KIND TO BLAKE YOUNG

Blake Young had a horrible weekend during round nine of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Blake had ridden his Young America Suzuki GSX-R600s to several strong finishes during the mid-week AMA Grand Championships, only to have his luck desert him on the pro weekend.

Saturday’s Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Final – DNS
Blake was unable to start the Formula Xtreme final on Saturday. His primary Formula Xtreme machine developed an engine problem on Friday, and his back-up bike was damaged in a crash on Saturday. The Young America crew was unable to repair the damage before race time.

Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Final – DNF
Blake was running in 14th position when he crashed unhurt in the Keyhole turn. The bike was unable to be ridden in for repairs.


HEARTBREAKER FOR HANER AT MID-OHIO

Hooters Suzuki’s John Haner had a bittersweet day on Sunday at round nine of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. John ran with the factory riders in the morning Superstock race, credited with 12th place after a confusing red flag situation following a tire failure and crash by Jamie Hacking, which happened directly in front of John. In the afternoon’s 26-lap Superbike race, John ran in eighth place for most of the race, only to be passed on the last lap and finish tenth after he backed off the pace based on what he thought was his pit board information.

Sunday’s Repsol Superstock Final – 12th Place
“I was gonna try to go underneath Jamie,” said John. “He was pulling me down the straightaway, and his tire, whatever, let go. I saw the end of the highside and Jamie was on the ground. I did everything I could to try not to hit him, and luckily, I didn’t. Thank God, ’cause it would have been ugly. I was on the brakes, and he was slidin’ towards where I was going. His bike was over here slidin’ and he was over here and there was just pieces flying, so I was trying to go through the middle on the brakes. The next lap I come by they’ve got the red flag out, so I sat up. Tommy (Hayden, just ahead of Haner) sits up. And everybody keeps going! I look around and go ‘Where the &%$! are the rest of the flags!’. But, for me, that was the best race of the year in Superstock.”

Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 10th Place
John led, then followed, then re-passed Larry Pegram during the race, only to get passed on the last lap by Pegram and teammate Eric Wood. “I must have read the wrong pit board,” said a disappointed Haner. “My leg hurt so bad in the middle of the race, and I see the board and it was six, then five, then four point five (seconds ahead of teammate Eric Wood) and I was like, ‘I gotta get by Larry’. I get by him and I start to see one, two, two and a half (seconds ahead), and it’s like seven laps to go. Last lap, I thought I saw two and a half, then I get passed down the back straightaway, and I’m like ‘Where the heck did these guys come from?’ and I know I didn’t back off that much. I know I rode a good race, it’s just frustrating after all that hard work.”


MID-OHIO IS GOOD TO ESLICK AND HIGBEE

Millennium Technologies Suzuki teammates Danny Eslick and Shawn Higbee had good results on Sunday at round nine of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Danny had a season-best finish of 11th place in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport race after running as high as ninth place at one point. Shawn ran as high as 11th in the second Superbike race before rear traction woes slowed his forward progress.

Danny Eslick
Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Final – 11th Place
Danny used the same set of tires throughout all three segments of the Supersport race that was red-flagged three times for crashes. His tires had lost performance by the third portion of the race. “I started on the fifth row, had a red flag, next time started on the fourth row, another red flag and I started on the third row,” Danny said. “Every time I kept moving up and picking guys off. It started out as a slow weekend, got better and better. We got the bike set up pretty good. Kind of a bad situation with the leaders crashing and people taking each other out. Me and Chris Ulrich had a little bit of a battle going, and I had a few moments. I wasn’t going to crash trying to chase him down. I lost the front in a bunch of different places, lost the rear, and I was like ‘What can I do?’, you know. Like in places I didn’t have to ride aggresive that Chris couldn’t go around me, I just would pole-putt, just be going slow. No need to throw the thing down the road when the guys I’m racing in points are already on the ground and out.” Eslick moves up to 11th place in season point standings in the class.

Shawn Higbee
Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 12th Place
“The shock changes felt better in the beginning and the middle, but the problems came back again at the end,” said Shawn. “It just started moving around too much. I also had a hard time telling if the rain on my visor was staying there or really was coming down contantly. I had a couple of moments sliding around, and just didn’t feel comfortable pushing any harder in damp conditions.”


HEATH SMALL REBOUNDS AT MID-OHIO

Heath Small of HAS/Shogun Racing rebounded from a fall in the red-flagged Pro Honda Oils Supersport race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to finish 15th at the end. A tire change during one of the red flags solved a problem that caused Heath to low-side during the race. He was able to run the pace he had earlier in the weekend and salvage a good finish.

Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Final – 15th Place
“We started with blue/blue softs,” said Heath. “Even on the warm-up lap, the bike didn’t really feel right. It had a liittle bit of vibration from the front end, but I thought it was just me. Started the race, and any time I would tip it over on the edge it seemed like there was a vibration there. We came in after the first red flag, and we grabbed another tire that was somwhat new. Put it on the tire warmer, waited, waited, waited. When it was time to go, we pulled the tire warmer off and it was the wrong compound, so we went with the same front tire. I guess it was a lap or two into the race, just rolling through the corner, and caught a groove or something and tucked the front. I ran over and picked the bike up, nothing happened to it. Got on the bike, rode it in and the red flag came out. We changed the front tire and ended up dropping a second and a half from the lap times. From there, we just tried to salvage what we had.”


PRIDMORE SIXTH IN SUPERSTOCK AT MID-OHIO

Jason Pridmore had another good race today in the Repsol Superstock final at round nine of the Chevrolet Superbike Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Pridmore rode his STAR Motorcycle School Suzuki GSX-R1000 to a fine sixth place finish in the red-flag-shortened race, and he was actually in fifth when a single red flag was shown in the area where Jamie Hacking had crashed when his rear tire came apart, causing confusion and uncertainty among the race leaders for two laps.

Sunday’s Repsol Superstock Final – 6th Place
“I felt great,” said Jason. “We had a bit of a tire choice dilemma this morning, and we went with what we felt we could go quickest on. It was great being able to race with the factory guys. The first four split pretty quick. I could see there was a group of four and four forming pretty quick. I was right there with Tommy (Hayden), Josh (Hayes) and Jamie (Hacking). I just felt like I was getting held up a bit. They were all pretty good on the brakes at the end of the back straightaway, so I had to get kinda creative. I made some passes over in the infield area, in Thunder Valley. I’ve had success there in the past. Basically, the race was going great, and I could see we were catching Aaron (Gobert), and they throw a red flag down the bach straightaway. All of a sudden there’s a red flag with a debris flag. And I see Aaron check up, but I looked immediately at the next flag station and there’s no red flag, and I thought, ‘Man he doesn’t see that, obviously.’ And I knew Josh was gonna keep rolling, so he rolled past Aaron, then Aaron started going again, and then I passed Aaron a lap later. I thought, ‘They gotta do something, this isn’t fair’, because if anybody else checked up, in front or behind, and lost position, it’s not really fair. I was bummed, because I was fifth. My only thoughts right now, is just hoping Jamie’s good. You know, he’s toughed it out pretty hardcore this year, and I know what it’s like to ride with injuries. He was riding exceptional, and just trying to get points and to have something happen like that, it’s really unfortunate.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki:

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki added to Vincent Haskovec’s Saturday podium finish by claiming four top-ten finishes on Sunday at Mid-Ohio. The placings were hard earned in a pair of chaotic, red-flagged halted finals.

In the day’s opening Superstock race, Haskovec and his teammate Steve Rapp put their Michelin-shod GSX-R750s in contention for fifth, dicing with a huge pack of 1000cc-mounted riders for the position.

Haskovec in particular was on form, charging up from outside the top ten into seventh before confusion spoiled the race. An inadvertent red flag was shown on lap 12, causing a number of riders to ease up thinking the contest was being stopped. After becoming aware of the situation, race control displayed an official red flag on lap 13 of 16. They then called the race complete, but reverted the final results back to lap 11, the last lap completed before any riders had been shown the false red flag.

Haskovec was awarded seventh as a result, with Rapp in ninth.

“That’s not a great way for a race to end, but things like that will happen sometimes in racing,” Haskovec remarked. “I was caught up in a big group because a rider was trying to help another rider’s championship hopes and wouldn’t pass him, I think, and it bunched a lot of us up together.”

“It’s too bad that the red flag came out,” he continued. “My Michelin tires felt just as good when the race was stopped as they did at the beginning, and I think I would have kept going forward. But it was a good finish for us to go along with the podium from Saturday in Formula Xtreme.”

The Supersport race wasn’t much less confusing, with three separate red flag stoppages and a premature ending.

In a race that saw more than its fair share of incidents, Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki wasn’t able to avoid them completely. A rider made contact with Rapp just before crashing, and the Californian fell himself in a separate incident, a short time later.

Fortunately, a red flag actually worked in the team’s favor, allowing Rapp to rejoin the race. He made the most of the opportunity, going on to claim sixth place when the race was stopped for the last time following lap 13 of a scheduled 16.

Chris Peris came out of the race with a strong result as well. The Canadian took his best AMA finish yet, taking eighth place in what was his second straight Supersport top ten.

The AMA series will take all of August off before heading to Road Atlanta on September 3-5 for Round 10 of 11.


More, from a press release issued by William Meyers, III’s publicist:

William A. Meyers of Prieto Racing finished 13th in his third round of AMA Supersport at Mid-Ohio on Sunday 7/25. Meyers #477 is a first year professional after competing only last year as an amateur in the CCS racing series.

His top 15 finish follows up his 19th place finish at Barber Motorsports.

“In preparation for racing a full 2005 AMA Supersport season, this year my goal was to race as many AMA venues as we could afford. We hoped for a top 20 finish at Daytona, but experienced disappointment after a crash in the chicane resulting in fractured vertebrae. Barber was our next opportunity for a top 20. When we got the 19th, our goal was for a top 15 at Mid-Ohio. Despite being our first visit to Mid-Ohio, we were extremely pleased with our showing.”

Meyers did experience a “get-off” in Friday a.m. practice, but was able to get his Yamaha R6 ready for qualifying on Saturday. He will finish out the season with the two final rounds of AMA Supersport at Road Atlanta and VIR.