Mid-Ohio: Ducati Austin first qualifying notes

Bostrom on Provisional Second Row at Mid-Ohio

Lexington (Ohio) - Friday July 23, 2004: Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin's Eric Bostrom qualified on the provisional second row for this weekend's AMA Superbike doubleheader at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. In cool and clear conditions, Bostrom rode his Ducati 999R to a time of 1:28.923 on the 2.4 mile road course, putting him currently in seventh.

"We were struggling today," explained Eric, who won the AMA Superbike race at Mid-Ohio in 2002. "We had some problems keeping the weight even on the tires all the way through the turns. I would go through the corners and the weight would move on and off the tire. Our grip was affected by it and I ended up running wide on a turn or two. This place is 'connect the dots' so if you end up wide, you'll be off for the next few turns as well. Tomorrow we hope to make it better; we have some ideas and hopefully it will improve things."

Racing Manager Tom Bodenbach commented, "Eric rode hard, but it just didn't happen for him today. We've been in meetings after the session and think we might be able to improve the grip some for tomorrow. We also have another Michelin front tire to use tomorrow that might help, too. The guys on the crew are all working hard and it would be great for them if we can get a top result."

Final qualifying concludes tomorrow morning with race 1 (26 laps - 100 km) of the weekend doubleheader scheduled for 4:00 EDT.

TIMES: 1. Duhamel (Honda) 1:26.515; 2. Mladin (Suzuki) 1:26.753; 3. Zemke (Honda) 1:26.931; 4. B Bostrom (Honda) 1:26.985; 5. Hayes (Kawasaki) 1:27.792; 6. Yates (Suzuki) 1:27.936; 7. E Bostrom (Ducati) 1:28.923; etc.

-www.ducatiaustin.com