Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Monday Morning AMA Superbike Practice Times:

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:26.883
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:26.884
3. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.252
4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:27.355
5. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:27.467
6. Ben Bostrom, Honda RC51, 1:27.544
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.598
8. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.240
9. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:29.582
10. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:30.791
11. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.652
12. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.404
13. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:33.462
14. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.469
15. Andy Deatherage, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:33.870
16. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:33.925
17. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:34.163
18. Byron Barbour, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:34.338
19. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.126
20. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.203
21. Mickey Lane, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:36.439
22. Scott Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:36.657
23. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:37.935
24. Tom Wertman, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:40.105
25. Marco Martinez, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:40.371
26. Anthony Fania, Jr., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:48.236

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts took his first-ever AMA Superbike race win Monday at Virginia International Raceway. Roberts battled with Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates throughout the last half of the 20-lap final to win by 0.772-second.

Yates was fourth on the first lap, took the lead on lap six and held it until Roberts passed him going into turn three on lap 12. From there Roberts held off Yates’ determined challenges through lapped traffic to claim the win.

Yates’ second-place finish closed his Championship point deficit to teammate Mat Mladin, who finished a conservative fifth. Mladin now unofficially leads Yates by 37 points heading into the final two races of the season at Barber Motorsports Park.

Miguel Duhamel passed teammate Ben Bostrom on lap 17, got some better breaks in traffic and came home third. Bostrom finished fourth, well clear of Mladin.

Giovanni Bussei took sixth after pulling away from Jason Pridmore. Shawn Higbee beat Jordan Szoke in a 20-lap fight for eighth, and Steve Rapp rounded out the top 10 on his Superstock-spec Suzuki GSX-R750.

Roberts’ first Superbike win will not be seen on TV, since TV crews left the track Sunday night.

Unofficial Results
1, Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51
2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -0.772 second
3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, -4.521
4. Ben Bostrom Honda RC51, -7.873
5. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -14.135
6. Giovanni Bussei, Ducat 998RS, -20.340
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -33.514
8. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -38.611
9. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -39.719
10. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R750, -60.332
11. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -65.642
12. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -74.598
13. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R750, -74.752
14. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -77.174
15. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -78.511
16. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, -78.921
17. John Haner, Yamaha YZF-R1, -78.991
18. Andy Deatherage, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
19. Scott Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
20. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, -1 lap
21. Marco Martinez, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
22. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki GSX-R750, -1 lap
23. Rob Christman, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
24. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki GSX-R750, -1 lap
25. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
26. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
27. Byron Barbour, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
28. Anthony Fania, Jr., Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
29. Tom Wertman, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
30. James Kerker, Honda CBR929RR, -1 lap
31. Rick Narup, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
32. Kevin Lehman, Yamaha YZF-R1, -1 lap
33. Mickey Lane, Suzuki GSX-R750, -1 lap
34. Doug Duane, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -2 laps
35. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -16 laps, DNF


AMA Superbike Point Standings:

1. Mladin, 493 points
2. Yates, 455 points
3. Ben Bostrom, 432 points
4. Roberts, 405 points
5. Duhamel, 393 points
6. Eric Bostrom, 350 points
7. Higbee, 346 points
8. Pridmore, 339 points
9. Szoke, 260 points
10. Haskovec, 241 points


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Press Information:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

Honda Press Release Virginia International Raceway
Weather: 32
Temperature: Hot, sunny
Crowd: 30,000

Kurtis Roberts Earns First Superbike Win

Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts fulfilled a lifelong dream by winning his first ever AMA Superbike race in the rain-delayed Monday final at Virginia International Raceway, round 16 of the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship.

“Coming across the stripe I was tucked in like you’d be at Daytona,” Roberts, the youngest son of three-time 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts, said. “I didn’t know where he’d be coming from or how close they were at the time and kind of just held them off today.”

The win capped an impressive weekend for Roberts. He was clearly the class of the field on Saturday, jetting into the lead from the start and never to be headed. Teammates Bostrom and Duhamel had gone out with him, only to lose touch near the halfway point when Roberts turned up the pace.

“Just put my head down got past the lappers right,” Roberts said. “I just didn’t think they could keep up to that point. I just kept going, wouldn’t stop.”

He was holding a nearly 10 second lead, with the checkered flag less than five laps away, when his rear tire overheated. After a quick pit stop, he re-joined the track to finish 13th.

Teammate Miguel Duhamel took over the lead when Roberts went out, then was passed by Mat Mladin (Suzuki). Soon Duhamel got stuck behind former World Superbike rider Giovanni Bussei late in the race. It was only after Bussei misread the flagman that the Duhamel and Bostrom were able to move up to second and third. In American Superbike racing, the flagger waves a white flag to signal the final lap. Bussei thought it was the checkered flag, and slowed down, allowing both Duhamel and Bostrom past.

Saturday’s race was won by Mat Mladin (Suzuki), who passed Duhamel and Bostrom on the 25th of 28 laps.

Sunday’s race was delayed for several hours after a rider in an earlier race dropped oil over a large section of pavement. Race officials spent hours cleaning it and one race was run. Torrential rains hit soon after and the residue from the oil slick made the track unsafe and the decision was made to come back on Monday morning.

Monday’s race was green-lighted at 9:20 a.m., Roberts speeding to the front and leading most of the laps, only giving way mid-race to Suzuki’s Aaron Yates. Then Roberts took it back on lap 12 and fought Yates to the end, holding him off by 0.772 seconds.

Third went to American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel with Ben Bostrom fourth, for the second day in a row slowed by a loss of feeling in his hands.

Kurtis Roberts, 1st Place, Monday
After this year, it’s kind of like ‘What’s next? You’re going the last three laps, who knows what’s going to happen. I wanted to win one real bad all year. We’ve been so close so many times the last few for reasons keeping us away from it. Especially Saturday, 10 seconds with four to go. I was thinking ‘Don’t crash, don’t crash,’ the next thing you know the thing feels like it’s got a speed bump in the tire. I was pretty motivated. I just didn’t want to lose at all.

Miguel Duhamel, 3rd Place, Monday
It was just a hell of a race. It was a sprint, 20 laps. I got dropped with about four or five laps to go a little bit. I kept believing I could get back up there but then I hit some traffic again. The whole race actually I was really comfortable, I was saving my tires. I was hoping they’d get too excited and use too much of their tires and I’d have something for them at the end. I was really banking on that. But like I said I got caught back a little bit. A couple of times I bridged it back to them, but that last time, the last five laps just couldn’t’ do it.

Ben Bostrom, Fourth Place, Sunday
The bike and tires were perfect. I had the same tire I had yesterday. My hands fell asleep. Fortunately they shortened the race because I was about to get a hell of a lot slower. Obviously I don’t know what it is. I’ve got to fly back to Dr. Ting to find out what. I talked to (Repsol Honda’s) Nicky Hayden and he said he had the problem when he rode the Superbike.

Miguel Duhamel, Second Place, Saturday
When Kurtis (Roberts) had his problem, that was unfortunate for him. But I’m like hey, we’re racing for a win. And I couldn’t get by Giovanni Bussei and I kind of said, well, you know I can draft by him. I was able to get more speed to the start-finish line that he was on is Ducati,. My Honda was faster. So I said you know, worst case scenario, I’m just going to pass him at the line and everything was beautiful until Mat (Mladin) came around and passed us both. And I was like, ‘Oh god.’ That’s just unfortunate. But yeah, I had a plan for Bussei, didn’t have a plan for Mat (Mladin). I just needed to get by him. If I got by him then it’s a different story, but I couldn’t and Mat (Mladin) could.

Ben Bostrom, Third Place, Saturday
Not much to tell. It wasn’t too good. the first half of the race was quite fun. I haven’t really run up front the whole season. So it felt good to be up there. My hands actually went to sleep. I was still giving it all I got. When you can’t feel the handlebars it’s a bit scary. I was still pushing hard and trying and these guys just outrode us today and had things working, so it was pretty cool for them and a bummer for Giovanni (Bussei). These boys (Mladin and Duhamel) were coming up behind us pretty quick and the door was right there, so just kept my head down. And this track’s great when it’s hot. It’s like riding on grease full time. You’re sliding around. It’s fantastic.

Kurtis Roberts, 13th Place, Saturday
I picked a tire out of all of them that I thought was going to be the best of that. I didn’t override it. I just keep chunking them. It gave no warning. When I went to brake I felt it really start to vibrate and all of sudden and it was so bad I couldn’t even lean it over. I knew straight away what happened. It wasn’t blistering at all. I was pulling away easily, even slowing down I was still pulling away quite a bit.

Sunday Superbike:
1. Kurtis Roberts (Honda)
2. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
3. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
4. Ben Bostrom (Honda)
5. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
6. Giovanni Bussei (Ducati)
7. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki)
8. Shawn Higbee (Suzuki)
9. Jordan Szoke (Suzuki)
10. Steve Rapp

Saturday Superbike:
Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
2. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
3. Ben Bostrom (Honda)
4. Giovanni Bussei (Ducati)
5. Jordan Szoke (Suzuki)
6. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
7. Shawn Higbee (Suzuki)
8. Geoff May (Suzuki)
9. Jacob Holden (Suzuki)
10. Mike Ciccotto (Suzuki)

Point Standings:
Mat Mladin (493)
2. Aaron Yates (455)
3. Ben Bostrom (432)
4. Kurtis Roberts (405)
5. Miguel Duhamel (393)
6. Eric Bostrom (350)
7. Shawn Higbee (346)
8. Jason Pridmore (339)
9. Jordan Szoke (260)
10. Vincent Haskovec (241)


More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

Alton, Virginia, USA (Monday, 1 September) – The second of the double-header AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship races was run early on Monday morning with Australian Mat Mladin emerging from the rain affected weekend with an extended points lead in the championship with just two races remaining.

In his attempt to become the first rider in the American AMA series to have won four national Superbike titles, Mladin heads to the final double-header round of the season at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama (September 21 & 21) holding a 38-point lead over Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Aaron Yates (493 – 455), after finishing fifth in today’s race.

Today’s rain delayed and shortened Superbike national (reduced from the original 28 laps to 20) saw Mladin adopt the same tactics as he did on Saturday for the first of the weekend’s Superbike races where he sat patiently behind the lead group and waited for an opportunity to present itself. It did on Saturday as he was able to make his way forward and claim his tenth race win of the series.

Today Mladin again dropped to the rear of the lead group of riders in the opening laps of the race with Honda’s of Kurtis Roberts, Miguel DuHamel and Ben Bostrom battling close with championship contender Yates. Rather than risk being involved in any unnecessary incidents, Mladin elected to play it safe and by race end had increased his overall point’s margin at the top of the table by an additional five points over the course of the weekend.

“The boys were really going at it out front, so I was quite happy to sit in behind them and wait and see what would happen,” said Mladin. “They were really chopping each other up and having a big go at it and I didn’t want to be part of it, so I decided to sit there and wait to see if they came back to me like they did on Saturday that would be good, but if they didn’t it wasn’t that bad either.”

“It’s not the time of the year when I need to push hard and risk crashing or breaking things on the bike to win races when all we have to do is bring it home. For the first ten laps I was right with them, but then just slipped off the pace a little and at the end I just brought it home.”

“We came into the weekend holding a 33-point lead in the championship and left with a 38-point margin, so it’s good. We’re not the ones chasing, so that’s the position that we want to be in heading to the final at Alabama.”

Victory in today’s race went to Roberts who held out Yates by just 0.772 of a second at the end of 20 laps, while DuHamel held out Bostrom for the final podium position.

“Overall it was a successful weekend for us,” added Mladin. “It was good to get the win on Saturday as it was a little bit unexpected. Kurtis had it in the bag, but then he had a tyre problem late in the race that cost him the win. I know how he feels as that has cost us a few races this year. Today we were just happy to get through the reworked race schedule and complete the meeting.”

The championship contenders will enjoy a three-week break before the final round of the championship makes its first appearance to the new Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. Mladin returns home to continue his training program and will also make an appearance at the upcoming Suzuki Dealer Conference in Las Vegas.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies won his fifth (third consecutive) AMA Formula Xtreme race of the 2003 season Monday at Virginia International Raceway.

Spies was second behind Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke and just ahead of Graves Motorsports’ Damon Buckmaster during the initial portion of the race, before it was stopped for a crash in turn four.

Jason Pridmore collided with Roger Lee Hayden entering the tight fourth turn, and both riders fell. Pridmore was taken to a local hospital with a suspected broken lower left leg, and Hayden could not make the restart on his Honda.

On the re-start, Spies got the holeshot followed by Buckmaster and Zemke. Buckmaster stayed close to Spies for the first four laps, but slowly faded backwards and was passed by Zemke on the run to turn seven with only a few laps to go.

Spies won from Zemke and Buckmaster and goes into the final round of the series with a 30-point lead. Unofficially, Spies only needs to finish 23rd or better at Barber Motorsports Park to clinch his first AMA Championship.

Jamie Hacking was closing on the leaders toward the end of the 11-lap restart but finished fourth after passing Josh Hayes mid-race. Marty Craggill looked strong in the first start but encountered problems in the second portion of the race and finished sixth. Corey Eaton finished seventh on a Superstock-spec GSX-R750 in the small, 15-rider field. Doug Duane, David Bell and Rick Narup filled the remaining top-10 positions.

Jason Curtis crashed two laps from the end and went to a local hospital by car to have his wrist X-rayed.

Adam Fergusson did not race in the Formula Xtreme event due to an injury he suffered in Saturday’s Superstock race. Ty Howard also did not start the Formula Xtreme race Monday.

Steve Rapp, who was sixth in Formula Xtreme points before the race, did not start due to new AMA restrictions on riders racing in both the Superbike and Formula Xtreme classes. The same restrictions also kept Vincent Haskovec out of the race.


AMA Formula Xtreme Results:

1. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 11 laps
2. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, -1.066 seconds
3. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1, -2.268 seconds
4. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R1, -3.062 seconds
5. Josh Hayes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -10.215 seconds
6. Marty Craggill, Honda CBR954RR, -23.630 seconds
7. Corey Eaton, Suzuki GSX-R750, -52.109 seconds
8. Doug Duane, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -58.402 seconds
9. David Bell, Suzuki GSX-R750, -74.243 seconds
10. Rick Narup, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -81.745 seconds
11. Heath Small, Yamaha YZF-R1, -1 lap
12. James Bonner, Yamaha YZF-R1, -1 lap
13. Nate Kern, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
14. Jason Curtis, Honda CBR954RR, -2 laps, DNF, crash
15. Shane Gonyea, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -2 laps
16. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -11 laps, DNF, crash
17. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR954RR, -11 laps, DNF, crash
18. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, DNS
19. Ty Howard, Honda CBR954RR, DNS
20. James Ellison, Suzuki GSX-R750, DNS
21. Danny Eslick, Suzuki GSX-R750, DNS
22. Bob Siebenhaar, Suzuki GSX-R1000, DNS


AMA Formula Xtreme Point Standings:

1. Spies, 288 points
2. Buckmaster, 258 points
3. Zemke, 249 points
4. Hayes, 241 points
5. Fergusson, 212 points
6. Craggill, 192 points
7. Hacking, 181 points
8. Steve Rapp, 176 points
9. Pridmore, 172 points
10. Hayden, 135 points

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The AMA Superbike race postponed to today at VIR was in question, and the race actually running depended upon the results of negotiations between AMA Pro Racing officials and track management.

The track’s contract with AMA Pro Racing included television coverage of the event. The Chet Burks Productions crew, which produces TV coverage for Speed Channel, packed up and left the racetrack Sunday night.

The course used by the AMA was actually rented for the day by Keith Code’s California Superbike School, under a pre-existing contract. Code agreed to let the AMA race run this morning.

A tentative schedule for the event is as follows:

9:15 a.m. Superbike Race 2
10:00 a.m. 250cc Grand Prix
10:30 a.m. Formula Xtreme

The paddock has thinned out considerably, with many riders having left.

Two big questions are circulating the paddock today:

Why didn’t AMA officials run the Superbike race yesterday when they had the chance, instead of running the 600cc Supersport race in the Superbike TV time slot?

What is the total economic impact of Chris Peris losing the oil drain plug on his CBR600RR and oiling down the racetrack in a short wet-track practice held immediately before the Supersport race was scheduled to start?

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

Schedule

AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship
Presented by Parts Unlimited

Barber Motorsports Park – Sept. 19-21, 2003

Thursday, Sept. 18

3:00 – 7:00 – Registration: Riders, Crew, Sponsors & Guests

3:00 – 7:00 – Tech Inspection

Friday, Sept. 19

7:30 – 4:00 – Registration: Riders, Crew, Sponsors & Guests

10:00 – Entries Close for all Classes

8:00 – 5:00 – Tech Inspection

8:30 – 10:30 – Practice: 1. Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport; 2. Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme; 3. Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock ; 4. MBNA 250 Grand Prix

10:40 – 11:40 – Chevy Trucks Superbike Practice

11:40 – 12:40 – Lunch Break

12:00 – Mandatory Rider Briefing for All Classes

12:40 – 2:30 – Practice (same order as morning session)

2:40 – 3:40 – Chevy Trucks Superbike Qualifying

3:50 – 4:20 – Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock Qualifying, Group 1

4:30 – 5:00 – Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock Qualifying, Group 2

Saturday, Sept. 20

7:30 – 3:00 – Registration: Riders, Crew, Sponsors & Guests

8:00 – 5:00 – Tech Inspection

8:00 – 9:40 – Practice: 1. Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport; 2. Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme; 3. Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock; 4. MBNA 250 Grand Prix

9:50 – 10:50 – Chevy Trucks Superbike Qualifying

11:00 – 11:20 – Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport Qualifying, Group 1

11:30 – 11:50 – Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport Qualifying, Group 2

11:50 – 12:40 – Lunch Break – Fan Track Ride

12:40 – 1:00 – Chevy Trucks Superbike Practice

1:10 – 1:45 – Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Qualifying

2:00 – Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Race 1 (100K – 28 laps); MBNA 250 Grand Prix Qualifying, 20 Minute Session; Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock Race (60k – 17 laps)

Sunday, Sept. 21

8:30 – 12:00 – Registration: Crew, Sponsors & Guests

9:00 – Tech Inspection Opens

9:00 – 11:00 – Practice: 1. Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport; 2. MBNA 250 Grand Prix; 3. Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme; 4. Chevy Trucks Superbike

11:00 – Lunch Break – Fan Track Ride

11:20 – Nondenominational Chapel Service

12:00 – FINAL EVENTS:

Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets (60k – 17 laps)

MBNA 250 Grand Prix (60k – 17 laps)

2:00 – Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme (60k – 17 laps)

3:00 – Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Race 2 (100k – 28 laps)

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The factory race department at Aprilia had developed a big-bore two-stroke engine specifically for the proposed 2004 AMA Formula Xtreme class shortly before AMA Pro Racing announced two-strokes would be ineligible for the revised class.

That’s the word from Stargel Aprilia team co-owner Rocky Stargel, who is fielding 2002 AMA 250cc Grand Prix Champion Chuck Sorensen on an Aprilia RSV250 in 2003 and had planned on running a big-bore version of the bike in the proposed 2004 FX class.

Stargel said he was initially sad that the 250cc Grand Prix class was dropped from the 2004 AMA lineup, but after more thought, became interested in the potential of the new Formula Xtreme class.

“I felt here’s an opportunity to race against a higher caliber opponent, maybe have a better television package, give more exposure to Aprilia, you know, really up the ante as far as the competitiveness of our team and the challenge involved. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea,” said Stargel.

Stargel then called his contacts with Aprilia in Italy and told them of the new FX class.

“They looked into it and started developing an engine package that was within those proposed guidelines – 330cc or less, two cylinders – and did come up with a solution to do that and felt really confident that it would be a really high-quality, competitive bike,” said Stargel.

“Shortly after Mid-Ohio, I was contacted by an individual who basically felt I should be aware of the fact that the eight-member AMA Pro Racing board was single-handedly going to rescind their earlier proposal of allowing two-strokes in Xtreme. When I first heard that, I was in absolute shock, because they came up with the original proposal and I saw no reason to change that and had no indication that was happening.

“So I contacted one of the members of the racing board and spoke to him, and he agreed with a lot of things I had to say and asked me to put those feelings down in writing and get it to them. I wrote about a two-page letter that basically stated our case and sent that to them. Didn’t hear anything back, and the next thing I hear back is the press release (from AMA Pro Racing outlining its revised 2004 class structure) on the Internet that gave no explanation for anything and said two-strokes would be ineligible (for the 2004 Formula Xtreme class).

“First of all, I e-mailed that press release to the race department in Italy as well as Aprilia USA. Then after a few days of being able to digest it, I called the board member I originally contacted, and he seemed to be frustrated and didn’t have a lot of insight for me. When I pressed the point and wanted to know what the negative was or the drawback was, he simply said the only thing that came up was that was not the direction the AMA wanted to go.

“I see no real negativity in it…It seemed to me the spirit the (Formula Xtreme) class was to have various types of mechanicals, great competition with maybe some unorthodox thinking, which you don’t see a lot of these days.

“When I originally looked at this from the original proposal it encompassed built 600s, 750cc Twins as well as large air-cooled Twins. So you’re including some Pro Thunder bikes and 250s with horsepower boosts. Looking at that and if you go back and look at lap times from the last year of Pro Thunder with an excellent, very professional effort put on by Jeff Nash and Kirk McCarthy at every track they competed at and we also competed at, they were never faster than us – best lap time versus best lap time.

“All the bikes remain from the original (AMA Pro Racing 2004 class struture) proposal except the second most competitive bike (330cc two-strokes) that I think would pose the most threat to the Japanese 600s. To me, that doesn’t exactly reek of fairness, especially when there’s absolutely no fore warning that they’re considering doing that. Real lack of communication there, and it seems like at least the Pro Racing board doesn’t feel like they have to answer to anyone or be accountable to anyone.”

From a press release issued by Lawdog Sports Management:

Boss hitting the radio waves

Eric Bostrom fans in the New York City area will want to tune into 92.7 WLIR on their FM dial tomorrow at 4:15pm (EST) to catch up with the Kawasaki Superbike rider, who is quickly healing after his shoulder surgery and hopes to be back on his Kawasaki in a few weeks. Radio sensation and personality, Orli (aka ‘The English Muffin’) will be interviewing Eric for her popular afternoon radio show (which runs weekdays from 3pm-7pm). Eric took the time out of his rehabilitation schedule to give the interview. “It’s great to be able to reach out to race fans in New York City who don’t get the chance to catch our racing live without trekking long distances. I really wish we had a race up there. But it’s great what ‘muffin’ does for our sport by promoting it like she does to the mainstream”

A big race fan, “The English Muffin” often promotes motorcycle racing on her show by broadcasting race results and discussing road racing with her listeners. “It’s been great watching both Bostroms race, but I first contacted Eric’s manager because there is nothing like watching the underdog ride the *&$!* out of one of the oldest bikes on the track. I had him pegged to win the title this year till Yates took him out. Not to mention the fact that he rides that thing like he’s being chased by a herd of horny rhinos, but then you hear him speak and he’s a sweetheart; how can you not love him?”

When asked why she promotes motorcycle road racing to her sizeable audience of mainstream listeners, she answered in this way: “It makes every other sport look like waltz dancing. It’s sex on wheels. Really seems like a no brainer to me.”

You can visit the station’s website at www.wlir.com and view the English Muffin’s profile under “JOCKS”. The rock station will also be providing a link on their website for fans to listen to the interview if they are unable to catch the interview by radio.

Log onto the NEWS page on www.EricBostrom.com to view an accompanying photo and the GALLERY page for photos from Eric’s recent visit to the Playboy Mansion for an X-Games party! (under PLAY)

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Sunday Morning AMA 250cc GP Practice Times:

1. Rich Oliver, Yamaha, 1:28.767
2. Chuck Sorensen, Aprilia, 1:30.071
3. Simon Turner, TSR Honda, 1:30.228
4. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 1:32.666
5. Ed Sorbo, Yamaha, 1:33.966
6. Colin Jensen, Aprilia, 1:34.130
7. Barrett Long, Yamaha, 1:34.356
8. Sandy Noce, Yamaha, 1:34.955
9. Chris Pyles, Yamaha, 1:35.076
10. John France, Honda, 1:35.388
11. Ed Marchini, Yamaha, 1:35.939
12. Sean McNew, Honda, 1:37.860
13. Steve Scott, Yamaha, 1:37.893
14. Stephen Bowline, Honda, 1:38.213
15. Sean Wray, Yamaha, 1:38.475
16. Shawn Murray, Honda, 1:38.651
17. Bill Himmelsbach, Yamaha, 1:39.082
18. Mark Stiles, Yamaha, 1:39.390
19. Glen Christianson, Yamaha, 1:40.368
20. Matthew Guibault, Yamaha, 1:40.435
21. Keith Floyd, Yamaha, 1:41.907
22. Justin Long, Yamaha, 1:42.110
23. Craig Secosan, Honda, 1:42.383
24. Bryan Hoelzer, Honda, 1:43.485
25. Joji Tokumoto, Honda, 1:43.545
26. James Bonner, Yamaha, 1:44.034
27. Bruce Lind, Yamaha, 1:44.873
28. Paul Hoyt Nelson, Honda, 1:46.993