AMA Pro Racing Re-Signs Sunoco as Official Fuel of AMA Pro Road Racing & AMA Pro Flat Track

Eric Bostrom on the #117 American Honda/Dunlop/DID/Arai-sponsored RC45 leads Tom Kipp on the #16 Fast By Ferracci/DKNY MEN/Ducati Motorcycles/AGIP Lubricants-backed 998, with Mat Mladin on the #66 American Suzuki/Yoshimura USA/Dunlop/American Showa-sponsored GSX-R750 close on their heels during the early running of the Wiseco Superbike 100 final at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course in July '98.  Bostrom was appearing as a fill-in rider for the injured Miguel Duhamel for several rounds in the '98 season and would come to grips quickly with the powerful V-4 Honda in what would be a big jump for his career in the AMA Superbike Championship Series at the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire event at the Lexington, OH. facility.  Mladin would also go on to win his first of seven and record breaking AMA Superbike Championships the next season.


With the rules and regulations of racing changing dramatically in the last few years, largely due to the economy, spec fuel and tires top the lists of trying to even the playing field for all contestants.  Sunoco fuels, having been involved as NASCAR's official fuel since the demise of the Union 76 contracts several years ago, has also been the fuel of choice for AMA Pro Road Racing for the last three seasons. 

With the newly announced contract extension and expansion to AMA Pro Flat Track, look for the blue, yellow and red arrow to make it's presence even more well known in the future of AMA Pro Racing with it's partnerships with the DMG-led series.

You can read the full press release below. 
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AMA Pro Racing and Sunoco Announce Multiyear Extension of AMA Pro Road Racing Partnership and Expansion to AMA Pro Flat Track

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (December 12, 2011) - AMA Pro Racing, America's premier professional motorcycle racing organization, and Sunoco, a world leader in the manufacturing of high quality race fuels, have expanded their established partnership with a multiyear agreement which now names Sunoco as the Official Fuel of AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track. AMA Pro Racing is also pleased to announce that beginning in 2012 the lucrative Sunoco "Go The Distance" Award, previously presented exclusively within the AMA Pro Road Racing paddock, will be awarded to the AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track riders that achieve excellence in their respective disciplines.

Since the 2009 season, Sunoco has fueled the outstanding competition found at AMA Pro Road Racing events with Sunoco 260 GTX, a premium unleaded racing fuel designed to meet the performance needs of AMA Pro Road Racing in addition to having numerous other high performance racing applications. Each division of AMA Pro Road Racing, which includes AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series, has thrilled audiences across the country with neck-and-neck racing followed by photo finishes thanks in large part to the exceptional performance, quality and consistency of Sunoco 260 GTX.

As part of the new agreement, Sunoco will begin supplying AMA Pro Flat Track with Sunoco Supreme, a uniform Sunoco gasoline tailored specifically to the unique performance characteristics of the motorcycles raced in the AMA Pro Grand National Championship and Pro Singles divisions.

"Sunoco has been an important and highly-valued partner to our Series, teams and riders for the last three years," said David Atlas, Chief Operating Officer of AMA Pro Racing. "The quality of racing that we have been experiencing in AMA Pro Road Racing is unparalleled and there is no question that part of that is due to the high quality product provided by Sunoco. We are excited to welcome them to the AMA Pro Flat Track paddock."

"Sunoco's Race Fuels and Branded Marketing Departments have been extremely pleased with the partnership that has been forged over the past three years with AMA Pro Racing and their Road Racing Series," said Rob Marro, Sunoco's General Manager of Performance Products and Automotive Events. "Enhancing this relationship by including the exciting racing taking place in the Flat Track Series has been a goal of Sunoco's all along. We look forward to providing the series and the riders with the highest quality fuels on the track and exciting marketing activation exposure via our over 4,900 retail facilities and aggressive social media initiatives."

In addition to the role Sunoco will play as the exclusive fuel supplier of the two Series, the agreement also calls for an increased marketing relationship between the two companies, including a number of national advertising and marketing activations focused on expanding the collective reach of the brands through the continued growth of American motorcycle racing.

Sunoco Race Fuels is the fuel of choice for a prestigious lineup of American motorsports organizations, including AMA Pro Racing, NASCAR, GRAND-AM Road Racing and ARCA. Sunoco has also been a consistent and valued supplier to grassroots motorsports, with more than 400 race tracks throughout the United States currently offering Sunoco racing gasoline at their facilities. For more information on Sunoco Race Fuels' premium products, please call 1-800-RACE GAS (1-800-722-3427).

To locate a distributor near you, please log onto Sunoco's cutting-edge and highly-useful online fuel finder at http://www.racegas.com/fuelfinder

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. For additional information contact: AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com

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2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden Sees His 150th MotoGP and Looks to the Future

Mat Mladin on his #1 American Suzuki/Yoshimura/Dunlop/Motorex-sponsored GSX-R750 leads early race two action in the Wiseco 100 AMA Superbike Championship Series round at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH. in July 2001.  Mladin would go on to win his 3rd of three-straight AMA Superbike Championships, and would retire at the end of the '09 AMA Pro Road Racing season after winning his record 7th championship.  Eventual event winner Nicky Hayden keeps the reigning champ honest on the #69 American Honda/Universal Studios/Dunlop/Jardine-backed RC51, while Eric Bostrom looks to close the gap on the #32 Kawasaki/Lockhart Phillips/Akrapovic/Yuasa-sponsored factory Kawasaki ZX-7R.


Hayden would go on to win the '02 AMA Superbike Championship while riding the American Honda RC51, and then would bolt to the MotoGP World Championship for the '03 season while riding for the Repsol Honda team, claiming the MotoGP Rookie of the Year in the process.  By the end of the 2006 season, America had seen it's first world champion in six seasons (Kenny Roberts, Jr./2000 500CC World Champion) when The Kentucky Kid claimed the championship at the season ending round on the team's RC211V, defeating multi-time World Champion Valentino Rossi in route to the title.

Five years later, and with 150 grand prix races in his back pocket after nine seasons of contesting the premier road racing series in the world, and the landscape has changed some for the Owensboro resident.  Now riding for his second factory team in MotoGP, the Ducati pilot has struggled mightily in the series with the Italian marque's carbon fiber chassis, yet he still should finish ranked 8th in the season-ending standings after next weekend's final round in Valencia.  Should any problems befall 7-Time MotoGP Champion Valentino Rossi next weekend (Hayden's team mate), The Kid could actually finish ranked in the 7th spot of the season-ending standings.

Although finishing 7th or 8th is not the cup of Kentucky tea that Hayden would hope for, the former champ stands resolute in helping to bring the Italian marque back to the top in MotoGP, and is looking forward to the switch to the '1000' platform in the 2012 season after five years of running the '800s' in the series.  Hayden's contract is up with Ducati at the end of the 2012 season and the question on a lot of minds is 'will he be on a red Italian bike after the 2012 season?'  Time will tell.


Whatever may come of the future for Nicky, one place he DOES have a guaranteed ride in the future is in AMA Pro Flat Track.  Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, who sponsored Nicky's demo laps at the 2010 Lucas Oil Indy Mile, told us here at Stu's Shots back towards the end of the summer that no matter what that Nicky always had a ride with the LBM Ducati team.  The Kentucky Kid kicked in a wad of dough in early August to help the team in rebuilding their motor after losing one at the Sacramento Mile at the end of July.  Team co-owner Dave Lloyd is (needless to say) a big fan of the middle Hayden brother (as is the entire LBM bunch), so he would in most cases have a ride ready for The Kid should he decide to come back to AMA Flat Track Series racing (not that that is likely to happen anytime soon-unfortunately for flat track fans!)  And Nicky made it VERY well known after those 2010 demo laps at Indy that he 'would be back' at some time or another in AMA Pro Flat Track.
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Read on about Nicky's nine seasons in the MotoGP World Championship as Cycle News.com's Henny Ray Abrams was on-hand at the Australian MotoGP round a couple of weeks ago, when Hayden competed in his 150th Grand Prix event since joining the series for the 2003 season.  You can read his story and interview with The Kentucky Kid here:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2011/10/26/nicky-hayden-150-gps-later/
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AMA Road Racing: Partial Schedule Set for 2012 AMA Superbike Championship Season in AMA Pro Road Racing

Eric Bostrom on the #32 Ducati Austin/Parts Unlimited/Michelin/Alpinestars-sponsored Ducati 999R leads a pack of riders out of turn 14 in the run up the hill to the stripe early in race two action of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited at Road America in June 2004.  EBoz was in his first of two years riding for the Ducati Austin team, winning several events on the big V-twin for the Italian marque, and would finish the day in the 6th position.  He would go on to finish 7th in the season's championship standings after missing the final two rounds and four races of the year.

Following closely on the heels of the red #32 Ducati is then-4-Time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin on the #1 American Suzuki/Yoshimura/Motorex/Dunlop-backed GSX-R1000, who would go on to a 3rd place finish in race two at Elkhart Lake, and by the end of the season capture his 5th of 7-total AMA Superbike Championships for the Yoshimura Suzuki team.  Mladin would go on to break all of the records in terms of poles and race wins in the premier class of the AMA Pro Road Racing Series and retire to his home country of Australia after the '09 season, and after winning his 7th championship.

'08 AMA Supersport Champ and '09 Daytona 200 winner Ben Bostrom lays some rubber down out of 14 while trying to keep the duo in reach on his #155 Honda/Parts Unlimited/Alpinestars/Madif-sponsored CBR1000RR in route to a 5th place finish for the day at the track located approximately 60 miles north of Milwaukee.  In his second year back from racing in the WSBK Championship, BBoz would end the year ranked as the 4th rider in the championship battle.  The fan favorite is the only active rider in this shot still contending the AMA Superbike Championship, and looks to be back again for his second year in 2012 riding for the Michael Jordan Suzuki team on their #23 Jordan Brand-sponsored GSX-R1000.

'95 AMA Superbike Champion, 5-Time AMA 600 Supersport Champion and 5-Time Daytona 200 winner Miguel Duhamel also lays down a streak of rubber as he powers his #17 American Honda/Shoei/Joe Rocket/Dunlop-sponsored CBR1000RR in his romp to the front and the win at Road America.  Duhamel would win the event by just over four seconds over runner-up Jake Zemke and another six seconds back to 3rd place man Mladin, and would finish second behind the Aussie in the '04 championship standings.

And bringing up the rear of this pack while also laying down a patch of race rubber is runner-up in this event, Jake Zemke on the #98 Honda/Parts Unlimited/PJ1/MTX-sponsored Erion Honda CBR1000RR.  Zemke would finish the year ranked in the 3rd spot of the championship battle and would go on to win the '08 AMA Formula Xtreme Championship.  Jake took part in the British Superbike Championship Series this season while riding in the EVO class of the European series after contesting the season-opening Daytona 200 while riding a Team Atlanta Yamaha.



With the 2012 season starting to come into place with the announcement of six rounds confirmed for the AMA Pro Road Racing Series, things are starting to come around for the premier series on the North American continent.  With other rounds in the making, the 2012 horizon is starting to look bright some 4 1/2 months before the season kicks-off in Daytona in mid-March.  Stay tuned as we keep you up to date with upcoming announcements for the series upcoming season.
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AMA Pro Racing Announces Contract Renewals for Six Tracks on the 2012 AMA Pro Road Racing Schedule

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 28, 2011) - AMA Pro Racing is pleased to announce contract renewals for six tracks on the 2012 AMA Pro Road Racing schedule. The series will feature the same class structure in 2012. On most race weekends, fans can expect to see doubleheaders for AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike and AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport, while the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series will continue to battle it out in a single race format. Daytona International Speedway will once again play host to AMA Pro Road Racing as the series kicks off a new season. The opening event is scheduled for March 15 - 17, 2012 and will feature the 71st running of the historic Daytona 200 on Saturday afternoon, March 17. AMA Pro Road Racing teams will make a return visit to Infineon Raceway in May but at an earlier date than previous seasons. The series returns to the 2.32-mile circuit, which is located in the picturesque wine country of Sonoma, Ca., on the weekend of May 4 - 6, 2012. Tooele, Utah's Miller Motorsports Park was added back to the schedule in 2011, and America's finest motorcycle racing talent will again be showcased alongside the international standouts in World Superbike on the weekend of May 25 - 28, 2012. The event will feature single races for each of AMA Pro Road Racing's classes. Fans in the Midwest will be happy to know that the series will be heading back to Road America on the weekend of June 1 - 3, 2012. The track, located in Elkhart Lake, Wis., has been on the schedule since 1980 and is the longest circuit the riders will face next year, measuring in at 4.048 miles. Thrilling Sunday sprint races for AMA Pro SuperBike, Daytona SportBike and SuperSport will once again be featured alongside MotoGP as part of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The international event at the 2.238-mile natural road course in Monterey, Ca. has been pushed back one week from last year's date, scheduled for the weekend of July 27 - 29, 2012. New Jersey Motorsports Park has impressed fans and competitors alike since debuting on the AMA Pro Road Racing schedule on Labor Day weekend in 2009, and the 2.25-mile track in Millville, N.J., will see the return of the series one week later in 2012, September 7 - 9, 2012. AMA Pro Racing is working in conjunction with M1 Powersports for promotion of additional events that were not included in this release. Details about those exciting events will be released as soon as they are available.

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. For additional information contact:   AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com

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Jake Zemke to Run British Superbike EVO Series for WFR Honda

Eric Bostrom on the #32 Ducati Austin/Parts Unlimited/Michelin-sponsored Ducati 999R leads then 4-Time (and future 7-Time) AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin on the #1 American Suzuki/Yoshimura/Motorex/Dunlop-backed Suzuki GSX-R1000 early in race two action of the AMA Superbike Championship Series at Road America in June of 2004. 
Right behind Mladin, a partially obscured Miguel Duhamel on the #17 American Honda/Shoei/Dunlop-sponsored Honda CBR1000RR tries to keep the duo close, while Jake Zemke on the #98 Erion Honda/Parts Unlimited/PJ1/MTX-sponsored Honda CBR1000RR and Ben Bostrom on the #155 American Honda CBR1000RR (and team mate to Duhamel) try to keep the action close during the final premier event of the weekend at the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader at the Elkhart Lake, WI. track.
Duhamel would go on to take the victory while Zemke and Mladin would follow him home to round out the race two podium.  Mladin went on to clinch his 5th of 7 total AMA Superbike Championships for the 2004 year with Duhamel, Zemke and BBoz rounding out the top 4 in the 2004 championship battle.
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Great news for Jake Zemke fans comes from the great folks at Cycle News.com.  Zemke, who put the Project One Yamaha on the pole for the Daytona 200 back in March, and came home a respectable 3rd in the shortened race, has accepted a ride on a WFR Honda CBR1000RR in the British Superbike Championship EVO Series.  The EVO Series is essentially a 'Superstock'-spec series similar to what used to run as one of the campanion classes in the AMA Road Racing Series back before the '09 season, running closer to stock chassis and engine mods, but with slick tires mounted ala the superbike class.

After the downturn in the economy and the U.S.-based AMA Road Racing Series of the last several years, Zemke went from winning the '08 AMA Formula Xtreme Championship to signing with the Michael Jordan Motorsports team in the 2010 season in the premier AMA Superbike Championship Series on Suzuki GSX-R1000s sponsored by The National Guard.  Taking his first two maiden wins for the team at Daytona in March of 2010, Zemke struggled to equal his early-season results and ended up 3rd in the year-end standings behind eventual champion Josh Hayes and runner-up Tommy Hayden.  When the 2011 season rolled around, he wasn't offered another year with the team and was left without a ride except for the Daytona one-off riding for the Project One team.

You can read the story here thanks to Paul Carruthers at Cycle News.com and we'll be behind Jake all the way when he lifts a leg over the WFR CBR for the first time on June 17.  Read on:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2011/06/08/zemke-to-british-superbike-series/
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AMA Road Racing: Eric Bostrom Talks Attack Kawasaki and Getting Ready for Daytona

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Eric Bostrom's #32 Kawasaki Motors Corp.-sponsored ZX-7R sits on it's stand in the paddock in preparation for the Coca-Cola Super Cycle Weekend at Road America in June of 2000. EBoz' 600 Super Sport Championship Series ZX-6R, runner-up in the year end point standings in '00 sits just to the right of the rain tire-clad superbike. Bostrom, who rode for Team Green from the '00-'03 seasons, was also twice runner-up in the AMA Superbike Championship, in '01 to Champ Mat Mladin and in '02 to Champ Nicky Hayden. Bostrom also bagged the 600 Super Sport Championship in '01 to add to his list of championships he has won in AMA Road Racing over the years.
Bostrom will be contesting the Daytona season-opening rounds next week and will be back on a Kawasaki again after having ridden for Ducati, Yamaha and the Attack Suzuki teams since his years with the official factory effort. Cycle World, Attack Performance and Team Sho-Air will be sponsoring him aboard the all-new for '11 ZX-10R in both races of the AMA Superbike Championship, as well as in the Daytona 200 next Saturday on the ZX-6R in the Daytona SportBike class. He will be sporting the #10 in what as of this writing was still to be a one-off ride, unless more sponsorship should come his and the team's way to contest the rest of the season. 3-Time AMA Superbike Champion Doug Chandler made the #10 a household number to behold while riding for the Rob Muzzy-helmed Kawasaki teams of the late '80s and mid-late '90s.
Bostrom will be teamed with up-and-coming fast J.D. Beach, who has proven to be a very accomplished road racer and dirt tracker the last couple of years. The two have been testing and training together in preparation for the 200 mile marathon at the World Center of Speed next Saturday, March 12. Look for both to run at the front, barring any mechanical problems, all day.
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With the action at Daytona ready to kick off around the World Center of Speed in less than five days, teams are loaded and heading south towards the Sunshine State to start what has been the opening season ritual for years in the AMA Road Racing Superbike Championship Series. Last fall's announcement of an all-new for 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R saw the Attack Performance team and Eric Bostrom abandon the Suzuki GSX-R1000 for what is hoping to be the machine to beat for the 2011 racing season, and they have been preparing since they have had the machine in their hands.
EBoz will also be teamed with dirt tracker and road racer J.D. Beach for the Daytona 200 race next Saturday, and have been testing, training and getting to know one another in the weeks leading up to the trek to Florida's east coast. You can check out below what they have been doing leading up to round one of the 2011 AMA Superbike Championship Series and Daytona SportBike Championship Series season.

Here's wishing Eric, J.D. and the Cycle World/Attack Performance/Kawasaki team the best of luck next week!
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Here's Matthew Miles' story on the team getting ready over at Cycle World.com's racing blog site:

http://blog.cycleworld.com/2011/03/road-to-daytona-team-cycle-world-attack-performance-is-headed-for-florida%e2%80%94by-matthew-miles/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kawasaki Racing has this great video of EBoz and J.D. getting ready for the trip to Daytona:

http://www.kawasaki.com/Racing_News/Article.aspx?id=1551
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And here is Attack Performance's official website with some recent updates on the team's preparation for the opening round at Daytona next week:

http://www.attackperformance.com/
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Eric Bostrom Confirmed Along With Attack Performance & All-New Kawasaki ZX-10R for Daytona Round of AMA Superbike Championship

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Eric Bostrom navigates the carousel at Road America on the #32 Kawasaki Motors Corp.-sponsored ZX-7R during practice for the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire round of the AMA Superbike Championship in June of 2000. In EBoz's first full year with the factory team he finished 4th in the AMA Superbike Championship and 2nd in the AMA 600 Supersport Championship riding the team's ZX-7R and ZX-6R. Bostrom won the AMA 600 Supersport Championship in '01 while riding for the factory team, and also finished runner-up in the premier class in '01 and in '02 to eventual 7-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin.

Bostrom and Attack Performance campaigned several races in the premier AMA Superbike Championship during the 2010 season with a Yoshimura-prepped Suzuki GSX-R1000. It had been speculated for several months that Attack and EBoz would be back together for a full run at the AMA Superbike Championship in '11, but this time with the all-new Kawasaki ZX-10R that was just released late last fall. That speculation came to fruition today as the youngest of the Boz Brothers will be back with Attack, and with the new ZX-10R as well. Bostrom is also expected to run the Daytona 200 for the team on the also-new ZX-6R, with J.D. Beach as his team mate.

At this time reports have funding only available for the Daytona rounds that begin on March 10. Hopefully a full season of funding can be found to keep one of the more popular, let alone capable, riders in the series for the whole season. Dunlop Tire has another test scheduled for January 17 and 18-this coming Monday and Tuesday-and word has it that Attack and EBoz will be on the scene.

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The news that has been hanging in the air for what seems like months was made official today in that Eric Bostrom will be returning to the AMA Superbike Championship at Daytona in March with the Attack Performance team and the all-new Kawasaki ZX-10R. And EBoz is also expected to run the Daytona 200 for the team on the also-new Kaw ZX-6R with former AMA SuperSport rider and AMA Flat Track rider J.D. Beach as his team mate for the event which is the kickoff round for the AMA Daytona SportBike Series.

At this time word has it, however, that funding for the full season in the AMA Superbike Championship has not yet been met. With Dunlop Tire doing testing this coming Monday March 17 and Tuesday March 18, the team is expected to be on hand to take part in those tests.

You can check out the official press release and any current updates thanks to the great folks at Road Racing World.com. Read on:

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=43064

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Eric Bostrom Talks About His Return to AMA Superbike in 2010

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Eric Bostrom wrestles the #32 Ducati Austin/Parts Unlimited/Michelin-sponsored 999R out of turn nine at Mid Ohio during the Honda Super Cycle Doubleheader Weekend round of the AMA Superbike Series in July of 2004. Bostrom spent two years with the team in '04-'05, scoring three wins in the premier class series and finishing 7th and 3rd respectively in the year-end standings.
Eboz' first foray into the AMA Superbike Championship Series came in '99 as a replacement for then-injured rider Miguel Duhamel on a Team Honda RC45. He went on to ride for Team Kawasaki in 2000-2003, and then moved to Graves Yamaha Motorsports for the '06-'08 seasons.
Returning mid-season this year on a CycleWorld/AttackPerformance/
Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, Eboz was a welcome sight in the paddock and on the track, and showed he still has what it takes to run in the premier class, albeit a bit rusty. That should change with more seat time for this fine rider. As with many riders at this critical time of year, Bostrom remains 'unsigned' for the 2011 season, though regular rumors and speculation has him returning with Cycle World and Attack, but on one of the new Kawasaki XZ-10Rs.
Silly season this off-season is much worse and more sparse, with the economy dictating who can and will be able to do what in the series for the upcoming season. And with the motorcycle industry in a state of quandary over the downturn in the economy, a lot of teams are being forced to wait or not race at all in the upcoming season. Many riders are without a team and not even knowing what the future may hold. Daytona still has tire tests scheduled with Dunlop and several teams this month and next to work out settings for the annual season opening round in March. And no 'full' schedule has been released as of yet, although 2011 season rules have been posted.
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Eric Bostrom returned to the track in 2010 in the AMA Superbike Championship Series after sitting out the 2009 season while tending to his and his brother Ben's real estate interests in South America. Cycle World Magazine, Attack Performance and Yoshimura Suzuki put together a very sweet and potent GSX-R1000 for Eboz, and mid-season he was back at it again for some select races in the 'new and improved over 2009' AMA Superbike Series. After a break from racing, it was great to see the younger Boz Bro back on track and in the thick of things again.

Although a season-ending crash that tore his leg up pretty badly took him out of the season prematurely, the former series two-time runner-up sounds stoked to be back and has his sights set on the 2011 season, and at last report was healed up and riding his bicycle again and in training. However, just like what a lot of the riders are going through, Eboz is currently still 'unsigned' for the upcoming season, and at last word was on-track at Las Vegas at the beginning of November running a Kawasaki ZX-10R through it's paces during a WERA event.

Eboz got a chance to catch up with Matthew Miles at Cycle World and talk about his return and how the 2010 season went, and you can check it out here:

http://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle_news/racing_articles/10q4/update_team_cycle_world_attack_performance_yoshimura_suzuki_-_racing2
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AMA Road Racing: Will Eric Bostrom be Back on a Kawasaki for 2011 AMA Superbike Championship?

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Eric Bostrom is shown on the #32 Team Kawasaki ZX-7R at Mid Ohio in the summer of 2000 during qualifying for the Honda Supercycle Weekend round of the AMA Superbike Championship. EBoz finished runner-up in the series in '01 behind Mat Mladin, while winning the AMA 600 Supersport Championship along the way. He also finished runner-up in the premier class to Nicky Hayden in '02.
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The rumor mill has been stirring right along this off-season as to who is going where for the 2011 AMA Superbike Championship, and this one is starting to hit high-pitch. In what has been talked about for a little over a month now, reports have Eric Bostrom riding Kawasaki's new ZX-10R in the championship for next year along with Attack Performance, the team that Eboz ran a few select races for this season, and possibly Pat Clark Motorsports, who big brother Ben rode for this year fielding Graves Yamahas.

Of course, Attack fielded Suzuki GSX-R1000s for Eboz on his return to the AMA Superbike Series this year after his 18 month hiatus from racing, and Pat Clark Motorsports fielded Graves Yamahas this year for Ben Bostrom and Chris Clark. There have been too many little reports to dwell on, but to boil it all down PCM was looking for another manufacturer to team up with, thusly the tie-in with Kawasaki for the upcoming season.

Read and see more below. Obviously, this isn't written in stone yet, but the following news and event links sure point to some more solid evidence to chew on for the next few weeks!

This release from Dean Adams and his SuperBikePlanet.com talks about Pat Clark Motorsports and Ben Bostrom teaming with Kawasaki and Attack. This was posted on November 2, a couple of days before Ben actually signed to ride with Michael Jordan Motorsports on Suzuki GSX-R1000s for the '11 season, leaving PCM without a top-level, multi-experienced rider:

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2010/Nov/101102nu1.htm

Then on November 13, RoadRacingWorld.com had this video of Pat Clark personnel dyno testing a new 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R:

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=42651

That same video popped up on Dean's SuperBikePlanet.com AGAIN today, and mentions Eboz had actually TESTED the bike in a WERA West event at Las Vegas over the first weekend in November:

http://superbikeplanet.com/2010/Nov/101117kawdyno.htm

The above short story and video mentions EBoz having already run the new Kawasaki at Las Vegas during a WERA event. The following results of the A Superstock race at Las Vegas as posted by WERA back that up. Team Shoair has been one of Eric Bostrom's sponsors this year. Although the final result is last in the class, the fact remains that he did spend some time on a new '11 Kawasaki ZX-10R at Las Vegas over the first weekend of November:

http://maps.wera.com/results/showeventresults.asp?x=1098&rg=7726162841&c=7726166332
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Eric Bostrom Survives Near-Death Scare at AMA Superbike Barber Round

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Eric Bostrom on the #32 Kawasaki Motors Corp. ZX-7R bends it into turn six at Mid Ohio during qualifying for the Mid Ohio AMA Superbike Doubleheader in July of 2000. EBoz went from riding for Team Honda in '99 to Team Kawasaki in 2000 and beyond. He then signed with the Ducati Austin team for the '04-'06 AMA Superbike Series seasons, and then went to ride for Graves Yamaha in '07-'08 before sitting out the 2009 and early 2010 seasons.
He came back this year to ride some select events on the Cycle World/Attack/Yoshimura Suzuki team for a full-on assault that is expected for the 2011 AMA Superbike Championship. His weekend came to a premature grinding halt-literally-on Saturday afternoon when a crash caused what was suspected to be a broken/jagged footpeg to go through his leathers and cause a near bleed-out on his upper left leg, one that took over 100 stitches to close up. We wish Eric a VERY speedy recovery so he can get back to the mountain and road bike training he is known for and look forward to seeing him on the grid for the full 2011 season.
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Eric Bostrom was involved in a last lap crash on Saturday afternoon during race one of the AMA Superbike Series at Barber Motorsports Park, and thankfully he got to the hospital on time to save him from bleeding out. Apparently during the crash, which occurred on the last lap of the race one final, the footpeg was torn or partially ripped off of his Team Cycle World/Attack Performance/Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, and somehow the bike came into contact with his upper-left thigh and pretty much 'fileted him open' according to his brother, '98 AMA Superbike Champion Ben Bostrom. The real scary thing was that the doctors at the hospital, after performing a near-three hour surgery to close him up, said if it had taken five minutes longer he would have bled out.

We're super glad to hear Eric is on the road to recovery, and with the Barber round being the season finale on the 2010 AMA Superbike Championship Series schedule, he will have plenty of time to heal up and get back into racing action before the grid lines up for Daytona in March of 2011.

Stu's Shots wishes EBoz a quick recovery and is glad to hear things ended up working out for the best in the long run.

But it sure sounds like the rescue crew at Barber could stand to take some lessons from the IndyCar rescue squad in terms of getting to the crash victim in a timely manner. You can read it all below from those on the scene at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL.
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Ben Bostrom, Eric's older brother and the '98 AMA Superbike Champion and '08 AMA Supersport Champion, talked with Henny Ray Abrams at Cycle News.com about the last lap crash that also involved Brett McCormick on the #23 Jordan Suzuki. You can read his spin here:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2010/09/26/eric-bostrom-has-near-death-experience
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And Eric's Cycle World Suzuki team had this to say on their blog about what happened to Eric while he was fighting for 5th place in race one of the AMA Superbike Series on Saturday afternoon when he crashed on the last lap:

http://blog.cycleworld.com/?p=1549
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Ben Spies Ready to Go WFO at Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP Round This W/E

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Eric Bostrom on the #32 Ducati Austin/Parts Unlimited/Dunlop/Red Bull-sponsored 999R leads Ben Spies on the #11 American Suzuki/Yoshimura/Motorex/Dunlop-backed GSX-R1000 early in the running of race one of the AMA Superbike Series weekend at Mid Ohio in July of 2005. Spies got around EBoz in race one to finish second to winner Mat Mladin with EBoz rounding out the podium. The youngest of the Boz Bros turned it around in Sunday's race two and won with Miguel Duhamel in second and Ben 'Elbowz' Spies bringing it home third on the day.
Elbowz went on to win the '06-'08 AMA Superbike Championship, the '09 World Superbike Championship-as a rookie-and currently sits in 7th place in the 2010 MotoGP Championship standings, having already scored a podium finish at the Silverstone round with a fine third place finish on his Monster Energy Yamaha YZR-M1. Look for Ben to be close to the top at Indy this weekend as he has enough or more experience at this track then many of the tracks that the MotoGP circus visits. With two days tire testing at the end of June of '08 for the Suzuki MotoGP squad, and then racing in the first Indy Red Bull MotoGP in September of '08, Ben will have at least an equal-or better if that is possible-advantage at IMS this weekend during round 11 action.
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Ben Spies is looking to step it up (again?!) at this weekend's running of the 3rd Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP, round 11 of 18 of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship. Having already put it on the podium back at the Silverstone round and then qualifying on the front row at Brno two weeks ago, Ben is making the U.S. fans and his Monster Energy Yamaha squad quite proud this year. And including this weekend here in Indy, we still have eight rounds to go before he most probably is crowned the 2010 MotoGP Rookie of the Year. Not that I'm trying to throw a jinx at anyone now. Quite a performance for the satellite Monster Energy Yamaha pilot and squad to say the least.

Elbowz is looking forward to racing on U.S. soil again and also to being back at Indianapolis for his second go-around at the most famous race track in the world. Having tire tested here and competing in the first running of this event some two years ago, Ben does know the nuances of the REAL world center of racing and it's multi-surface layout. With the MotoGP track being completed in the early spring of 2008, this track does offer a variety of surface-types where everything from the original oval, the changes made from when the Formula One parade was here, and it was constructed and pieced together (so to speak) from different mixes of asphalt, making for the surface-types meeting together and offering different grip levels for traction. There have been some rumblings about those differences in grip levels as a result of the putting together of this world famous facility, but Ben knows them well from the many laps he ran here. If my memory serves me, in just the two days alone of tire testing in 2008 he ran close to 80 laps or so each day. In other words, over three race distances each day. So this should be a great weekend for him here in Indy!

One of two of the still-to-be-officially-announced worst-kept secrets left in the MotoGP silly season is where Ben will end up for the 2011 season. With '07 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner making his move to the Repsol Honda team official and multi-time 500CC/MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi making his move to the Marlboro Ducati team official, Ben Spies moving to the official Yamaha MotoGP team for next season should be 'officially' announced this weekend on U.S. soil at the World Capital of Racing. And of course the second of those two worst-kept secrets being the announcement-most likely this weekend as well-of Nicky Hayden staying on for another year with the Marlboro Ducati team, and his pairing again with soon-to-be-team mate Valentino Rossi.

This should be a great weekend overall, what with the 'official' announcements for two of the three American riders in the MotoGP class, the weather outlook overall is really expected to be superb and most likely the best of the three years that MotoGP has visited here at IMS. Sure has to beat '08 with the remnants of Hurricane Ike bearing down on us the final day of racing and pushing 60+ mph winds up most everyone's arse and all but spoiling the Yamaha and Boz Bros party in the infield in taking out some of the tent supports. Last year we even got some rain on Friday so it made it sketchy for not only the fans, but especially the riders during day one's on-track activities.

It's going to be great to see Ben and the boys back here for this monumental event. And since he was off killing 'em in World Superbike last year this will be his first visit since he brought the Rizla Suzuki #11 home in sixth place during the Hurricane Ike edition of the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP round in September of 2008. It should be great for him as well as the fans, and we wish Ben as well as all of the others the best as well as the safest of racing this weekend!

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Colin Young over at SpeedTV.com's Moto Racing News penned this article about Ben's season and his hopes for himself and the Monster Energy Yamaha, as well as for the U.S. fans at this weekend's running of the 3rd Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP, round 11 of the 18 round MotoGP 2010 season.

Check it out, and we'll be watching for Ben, Nicky and Colin to put on a great show no matter where they end up, as well as the rest of the MotoGP traveling road show!

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/motogp-spies-going-for-broke-at-the-brickyard/
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Eric Bostrom Talks About His Return to AMA Superbike Racing

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Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1-mounted Eric Bostrom sets up for a turn during practice for the AMA Superbike round at Barber Motorsports Park in April of '07. The 2001 AMA 600 Supersport Champion returned to the track at Mid Ohio in the middle of July with the newly-formed Cycle World/Attack Performance/Yoshimura Suzuki team to contest the AMA Superbike series in some select races for the rest of the 2010 season.
After a stellar mid-pack race at Laguna Seca's Mazda Raceway last weekend, it looks as if the rust is wearing off after having left the series at the end of the '08 season. Bostrom set his fastest lap of the race on lap 18 in the battle for what ended up a seventh place finish, and showed that the fire definitely still burns from within. And having his ability on the track back in the series, coupled with his great personality can only be good for the series, and especially the fans. If he keeps progressing at the rate he has in two events and three races, there may be some racers that think otherwise, though. With a little more work, that gap from seventh to the front is going to get a whole lot narrower.
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If you can't tell by now from reading what I have to say on this stuff, I'm obviously a big fan of the Bostrom Brothers. So when news came down the pike that Eric Bostrom would be returning to the AMA Superbike Championship to run a select few races this year, needless to say, I was stoked. Not only to see him come back to the track but for the series itself, as well.

The two-time premier class runner up had been away in South America since the end of the 2008 season (and away from racing), so to expect great leaps and strides with a newly-formed team (Cycle World/Attack Performance/Yoshimura Suzuki with GSX-R1000 AMA-spec Superbikes at their disposal) would for even the most active of racers been a stretch right out of the box. But then again, to not see some progress or some glimmer of 'races past' shown in a reasonable amount of time would or could surely tarnish the image, history or pedigree-so to speak-of any racer's or fan's expectations and/or accomplishments. Well, after his first two events back ole EBoz is having none of that, and after a VERY impressive mid-pack run at Laguna on Sunday that netted a seventh-place finish, he is showing the fire inside is still alive and the desire to get to the front is definitely still there. And bravo!

Putting together a strong run with a new team and learning the eccentricities of the new-rules machines compared to the fire-breathing dragons of the '08 season has made for a pretty good return so far. And if things keep getting better, Eric COULD very possibly nail down a podium before the end of the season. Possibly. And that would be great not only for him, obviously, but for the fans and the series as well. The man with the boyish smile makes for a great interview and his enthusiasm, just like his older brother Ben's, is unequaled.

The remaining three rounds and six races in the 2010 AMA Superbike Championship are going to be even more interesting, and could lay some hefty groundwork for Eric to work with going into the 2011 season. I think it's not only going to be fun, but it's going to be fun to watch as the action on the track has just stepped up another notch with ole Eboz back in town, and with Brother Ben topping the box last weekend we are going to see some classic Bos Bros action on the track together again. And that is a great thing!

Thanks to the great people at On The Throttle and RoadRacingWorld.com, we get a chance to hear straight from Eric himself exactly what he feels and what he sees in AMA Superbike at this point in time, the new team, and how glad he is to be back. Pretty good stuff.

I'll shut up now and you can go here and hear it for yourself:

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=41392
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Ben Bostrom Takes Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha to Victory at Laguna Seca AMA Superbike Race--Little Brother Eric Finishes 7th in Superb Mid-Pack Race

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Ben Bostrom on the Vance and Hines/Parts Unlimited Ducati #1 machine bends it through the carousel just before the last turn onto the main straight in the AMA Superbike final at Mid Ohio in 1999. Captain America, as can be seen from the stars and stripes on his helmet, is back ladies and gentlemen, as today he took his first win in the AMA's premier class at Mazda Raceway's Laguna Seca in over six years. Bostrom's last win in the premier class came at Laguna in July of 2004 while he was riding for Team Honda, and he has also won three World Superbike rounds at the famous west coast track.
In this shot, Ben had scooted out to a 3+ second lead over team mate Anthony Gobert and eventual '99 AMA Superbike Champ Mat Mladin, but had a shifter shaft seal blow out causing the bike to dump oil on the rear tire. He was able to re-enter the race but suffered a loss that surely could of at the time been his first win in the premier class. It would be at the Brainerd round approximately a month later that BBoz would notch the first of his now three wins in the AMA Superbike Series, to go along with his '98 AMA Superbike Championship which he won while riding the RC45 as a team mate to Miguel Duhamel on Team Honda.
One of the now-elder statesman in the class, as well as one of the most energetic and well-liked people in the paddock, Ben made everyone proud today, including Yamaha, who notched their first win at Laguna in the AMA Superbike Series. Great job Ben! We were rooting for you man!
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Eric Bostrom on the Ducati Austin/Parts Unlimited #32 machine wrestles his machine during AMA Superbike race one action at Mid Ohio in the summer of 2004.
Of note for today's race at Laguna Seca, Eric, on only his second ride back in the AMA Superbike series after a lay off since the end of the '08 season, came from mid-pack start today to end up 7th overall in the final. Racing with a pack that consisted of Brett McCormick (Jordan Suzuki-8th place finish), Chris Peris (Team Iron Horse BMW-9th place finish), Geoff May (Erik Buell Racing Buell-10th place finish), Taylor Knapp (Riders Discount Suzuki-11th place finish) and Jeremy Toye (San Diego BMW-12th place finish), EBoz stole the show in the middle of the race while battling with this tightly knit group.
On the 18th lap of the 23 lap race, EBoz set his fastest lap of the race (1:25:813 to Josh Hayes fastest lap of the race on lap 8 at 1:24:692 and Brother Ben's 3rd fastest lap of the race on lap 5 at 1:24:824) to slowly leap ahead of this pack and finish over five seconds ahead of 8th spot finisher McCormick. In the end the youngest of the Boz Bros. was a little over 35.5 down on big brother Ben, but had shown the fans and the other racers on the track that his learning curve is narrowing quickly. Great job Eric!
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The old guard treated the new guard to a sampling of what has been, and what COULD be again today at the Laguna Seca round of the AMA Superbike Championship, as '98 AMA Superbike Champ (and '08 AMA Supersport Champ) Ben Bostrom took his #155 Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1 to the top of the box over Graves Yamaha's Josh Hayes and Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Tommy Hayden in exciting race action at the Monterey lagoon.

Winning his fifth pro race overall at Laguna (Captain America won here in July of '04 and also has 3 World Superbike wins at the famous Monterey, CA. track), Bostrom fired a shot that has been in the chamber for some time now to show everyone that he is not only back but that he is very capable of running with the boys. After leading for the first lap, BBoz mis-judged the corkscrew turn on the second go around, and fell behind Hayes and then-leader Jake Holden (M4 Monster Energy Suzuki-4th place finish) when running into the dirt, and fell just over 1.5 seconds back from the front battle. Working his way back up, he was able to lead the last nine laps and hold off Hayes by .440 seconds at the stripe for his third overall AMA Superbike premier class win in front of his home state fans on hand.

Also of note for today's finishers was little brother Eric on only his second race event back in action on a Cycle World/Attack/Yoshimura Suzuki who had a great battle mid pack that started with him 13th and ended with him finishing 7th overall. Very impressive indeed!

Great job and congrats to Ben 'Captain America' Bostrom on his great win at Laguna and his return to the top rung in an AMA Superbike race. Couldn't have happened to a nicer, harder working guy. Bravo dude, take a bow!

And great job by little brother Eric as well. Who knows, it might not be too long to see both of them on the box at the same time. With three events and six races left in the AMA Superbike Championship this year nothing is out of the question. And to see the Boz Bros on the steps together would be way too cool.

Next round action is at VIR in three weeks. Josh Hayes takes a nine point lead over Tommy Hayden and Jake Zemke another 42 points back in third to the Virginia double header round August 13-15th. Stay tuned as this one is far from over yet!

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Here's the story on the race from the bible of motorcycle racing news and Cycle News.com's Paul Carruthers:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2010/07/25/bostrom-s-drought-buster

And here is Chris Martin's version of the race from the great folks at SpeedTV.com:

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/spoiler-warning-ama-sbk-results-laguna-seca2/
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AMA Pro Road Racing Laguna Seca AMA Superbike finale results:

http://amaproracing.com/rr/events/results.cfm?year=2010&eid=2010011035&discipline=rr&class=SB&type=F&rnum=1
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Yamaha Gifts Ex-Eric Bostrom Graves R1 Superbike to Jay Leno

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Chuck Graves is the man behind the Yamaha Graves Motorsports dynasty that has been supreme in pretty much all of the AMA Road Racing classes in the last 7-8 seasons, and is a former west coast road racer who first burst onto the scene in the '80s at Willow Springs Raceway. A former multi-time track and FUSA Champion, Graves started Graves Motorsports in 1990. After more then proving his mettle and ability on the track, the man also proved it in his ability to craft a finely tuned piece of racing equipment into a fire-breathing 180mph+ two-wheeled rocket. And he hasn't slowed down any either.
Hooking up with Yamaha as the unofficial and official factory team for the tuning fork people in the early '00s, the team won multiple championships in AMA 600 Supersport and AMA Superstock as a litmus test. It paid off. Graves and Yamaha came back to the premier AMA Superbike class in 2007. With riders Eric Bostrom on the #32 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike and Jason DiSalvo on the #40 like-machine, the team finished in the 4th spot (DiSalvo) and in the 5th spot (EBoz) in the final 2008 AMA Superbike Championship points standings, scoring 10 top fives and 27 top tens between the two riders. The only riders to finish ahead of them were '08 Champ Ben Spies, then-six time champ Mat Mladin, and Jamie Hacking on the Factory Kawasaki. Not a bad second year back. And in '09 Josh Hayes finished 2nd in the hunt, and Ben Bostrom nabbed 5th. As of this writing, Hayes is in the middle of the hunt for the 2010 AMA Superbike Championship with a four point lead and four race wins.
Since the '08 season, the rules have been de-tuned somewhat and the machines we now see on track are not the fire-breathing dragons of years ago (at least in the U.S. AMA Superbike Series). Bummer. Here are two of those Graves Yamaha R1 AMA Superbikes as they sit in the Graves paddock area at Road America in June of '08 while being readied for the weekend's events. Getting ready to breath fire.
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Whether you are a fan of Jay Leno or not (and I am so deal with it) you at least have to admire his automobile and motorcycle collection, that if you don't know about already, it's time to get out from under the rock. And slowly.

Anyway, Yamaha USA gifted an ex-Eric Bostrom '08 Graves Motorsports R1 Superbike to Jay Leno last night in part of the celebrations leading up to the Laguna Seca MotoGP event this weekend. Of course, all the BIG stars were there....KR, Sr., Eddie Lawson, Ben Spies, Colin Edwards......oh, and of course, Jay Leno. Sounds like a wayyyyyyyyyy cool time. Besides getting to put an ex-AMA (and REAL fire-breathing) Superbike in your garage and collection.

Read it and weep here thanks to the release and the great people over at Dean Adams' bitchin SuperBikePlanet.com:

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2010/Jul/100721leno.htm
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And you can check out some pics from the guest list, thanks to Dean Adams, right here:

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/image/archive/leno/1/

And here:

http://superbikeplanet.com/image/archive/leno/2/

And here, too:

http://superbikeplanet.com/image/archive/leno/3/
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And before you have to crawl back under that rock again, go here....Jay's garage:

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/
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Eric Bostrom Talks Mangos, South America and Returning to AMA Superbike Racing

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Aaron Yates on the Jordan Motorsports #20 Suzuki GSX-R1000 leads Eric Bostrom on the #32 Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 and Miguel Duhamel on the #17 Team Honda CBR1000RR coming out of turn 11 while racing for the fifth spot on the day during race one AMA Superbike action at Road America in June of 2008. Yates has been out the last 2 1/2 rounds due to a broken leg suffered in the Sunday morning warm up at Fontana, Miguel's only appearance racing a motorcycle was a 16th place result in the '09 Daytona 200, and E-Boz has been down on the farm in South America tending to property and labor issues since the end of the '08 season. He will be returning to race action in July at Laguna Seca as part of a joint effort with Cycle World, Yoshimura Suzuki and Attack Performance on an AMA Superbike for the first of three scheduled races this year.
All three riders have been missed dearly at the track and as good as things have been this year compared to last, to get Aaron mended and back on his Jordan Suzuki, and to have Eric return to the series on a competitive mount will surely help the series even more. And the racing, which has been quite good considering the changes the series has seen in management, let alone the rules differences on the bikes compared to a couple of seasons ago. The superbike class may not have the fire-breathing dragons of several years ago, but the racing has been closer and more evenly spread throughout the field.
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With the announcement of several weeks ago that Eric Bostrom would be returning to AMA Superbike for a few races, starting with the Laguna Seca round in July, the anticipation is growing of seeing one of the past stars of the series return to the track.
Over the weekend during coverage of the Infineon race two round on SpeedTV, Scott Russell and Ralph Sheheen got a chance to talk with Eric about his upcoming return. And Laurel Allen from the always cool RoadRacerX.com has this piece that hit the internet today with Eric and what his expectations are, the testing schedule for the team (which sounds amped-up and means that this is a full-blown effort to come out, size up the class, and maybe make a run for the 2011 season as well) and what his thoughts are about racing now and before his move south.
It will be great to see Eric return to the track, as he has been missed for his prowess, attitude and all-around ability to wrestle a modern-day race bike around the track.

Read on and Right on:

http://www.roadracerx.com/features/between-the-races/between-the-races-though-not-for-much-longer-eric-bostrom/
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Eric Bostrom's Coming Off the Farm to Race Some AMA Superbike Events

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Eric Bostrom on the #32 Austin Ducati/Parts Unlimited Ducati 999R leads Mat Mladin on the #1 Team Yoshimura GSX-R1000 and Miguel Duhamel on the #17 American Honda CBR1000RR early in superbike race two action at Road America in June of 2004. Ben Bostrom on the #155 American Honda CBR1000RR and Jake Zemke on the #98 Erion Racing Honda CBR1000RR follow closely into turn 14. E-Boz ran for Team Austin Ducati in the '04-'05 seasons and won two races with them in the '05 season. His return to the track will be watched closely by many since he retired to the mango farm at the end of the '08 season, and will be great for more parity in the AMA Superbike Series for the three race events he is planning to run.
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E-Boz gets a knee down while qualifying for the Mid Ohio AMA Superbike round in July of 2000. This was his first of his four years with Team Kawasaki riding the ZX7-R-based superbike. Bostrom finished in the runner-up spot in '01 and '02 in the premier class for Team Green while winning several races and won the '01 AMA 600 Supersport Championship for them as well on a ZX6-R-based machine. The youngest of the Boz Bros. also won the '96 and '97 AMA 883/SuperTwins Championship as well as the '98 AMA Formula Extreme Championship.
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In 1999, E-Boz was asked to 'fill-in' for Miguel Duhamel (as if anyone could do so-nothing against EB!) on the American Honda RC45 while Duhamel was out injured as a result of his devastating Road Atlanta crash. In this shot Eric is on the outside (on the screaming RC45 #32) of Vance and Hines Ducati's #95 Anthony 'The Go Show' Gobert going through the carousel turn at Mid Ohio in superbike final action in the summer of '99. Close behind are Pascal Picotte on the #21 H-D VR1000 (partially hidden), Jamie Hacking on the Team Yamaha YZF-750 #92 and Larry Pegram on the #72 Team Fast By Ferraci Ducati.
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Eric Bostrom hammers the throttle WFO in qualifying for the Road America AMA Superstock round in June of 2006. Eric hooked up with the Graves Motorsports Yamaha team for the '06-'08 seasons putting in time the first two years on the YZF-R1 superstock machine and also in the Formula Extreme class. EB moved to the superbike class with Graves for the '08 season, which was Yamaha's first official year back in the class in several years, and placed 4th in the class behind his team mate Jason DiSalvo that year. After the '08 season he announced his 'retirement' to the mango farm in Brazil that he and his older brother Ben had purchased.
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Miguel Duhamel on the #17 American Honda RC51 leads Eric Bostrom on the #32 Team Kawasaki ZX-7, Mat Mladin on the #1 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750 and his team mate, and eventual dual-weekend winner Aaron Yates on the #20 Yosh Suzuki GSX-R750. Bostrom would win several of his 15 superbike/premier class wins while running for Team Green, including a round at Road America and one at Mid Ohip in '02. This was going through the carousel at Mid Ohio during AMA Superbike race two action in the summer of 2000, Eric's first year with Kaw. Other then Mad Mat, Eric was the most dominant of superbike racers in this span, garnering two runner-up spots in the championship behind Mat in '01 and behind Nicky Hayden in '02.
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Great news was rumored over the weekend, and then confirmed the first of this week that Eric Bostrom, the youngest of the Boz Brothers racing duo, would be returning to AMA Superbike Series action for several events later this year. Partnering with Cycle World, Yoshimura Suzuki and Attack Performance, E-Boz will be returning to the track in late July at Laguna Seca, and also competing in rounds at VIR in August and the season-ender at Barber in late September.
After 'retiring' at the end of the 2008 season to work the property in Brazil that he and his brother had purchased, E-Boz all but dissappeared off the racing radar while working in South America.
The timing must have been right, and maybe the former two-time premier class runner-up and the '01 AMA 600 Supersport Champion felt that way as well. With the new rules in the class that were established for the '09 season, and coupled with the loss of 7-time champ Mat Mladin to retirement and 3-time champ Ben Spies now off to MotoGP, the racing has gotten much closer throughout the class and parity is certainly the norm now. Other then the fact the class is still filled with Suzuki's, there are a number of stout teams and racers that could win on any given day. With E-Boz back in the mix, and if he is up to par after having been away for the better part of two years from active competition, you should be able to throw his name in the mix as well.
Highly missed by the fans, it will be good to see E-Boz back in action again and thrilling us all with his riding prowess. We will be watching and rooting for Eric and looking forward to seeing him back in the AMA series where he belongs!
We wish Eric the best of luck and can't wait to see him put it on the box with this new effort. Hopefully it works out good enough to put him on a full time ride for the 2011 season. Fingers crossed! And go get 'em man!
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Here's the official press release as posted over at RoadRacingWorld.com that comes from the Attack Performance folks who will be involved with Eric's homecoming party along with Yoshimura Suzuki, Cycle World, Leo Vince and others. Read and right on:
http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=40290

And here is the original article thanks to David Swarts over at RoadRacingWorld.com that speaks about Eric's return to the three AMA Superbike rounds later in the year:
http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=40273
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Another One Bites The Dust in AMA/DMG U.S. Road Racing As Kawasaki Pulls The Plug....

That sound you are hearing is pretty much like the one you hear after flushing your toilet,

as it was announced yesterday that Kawasaki would be pulling out all support, direct or otherwise, in AMA/DMG Road Racing in the U.S. Whether you attribute that to the

lackluster economy or the way the dominoes have been falling with the DMG-run AMA Pro Racing series is up to you. They did state in the official release that it was due to the poor economy, but one can't help but feel that the hot potatoe of AMA Road Racing as we have

seen it run by the Damaged Motorcycle Guys could or would have some major significance

to it as well. That is purely speculation and me just talking out loud.

The worst of it all is the fact that it leaves two more highly qualified riders without rides for

2010 season--Jamie Hacking and Roger Lee Hayden. And with the current situation here as

well as the global economy being major factors, and most teams having contracts and teams

in place for the upcoming season, that can't be good. For anyone, but especially now Jamie

Hacking and Roger Lee Hayden. You can read the official release here thanks to the super crew of people over at Dean Adams' http://www.superbikeplanet.com/. We appreciate their efforts!

http://superbikeplanet.com/2009/Dec/091218a.htm

If you take the time to list all of the great riders who have ridden for Kawasaki in the last 3

decades alone you would run out of ink. Well, almost. Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Scott

Russell, Fred Merkel, Doug Chandler, Eric Bostrom, Jamie Hacking, Tommy Hayden, Roger

Lee Hayden. And that's just for starters for the factory teams. The supported teams includeJamie Hacking and Roger Lee Hayden again, Josh Hayes, Jason Pridmore, Steve

Rapp, Chazz Davies, Ben Attard. And the championships and race wins with these very

informal let alone incomplete lists goes on even longer.

While you are bummin' like I am that the once strong U.S. road racing series is hitting some

very turbulent times--like you didn't think it could get any worse then the '09 season--at least

we can relish in the great memories that teams like the Muzzy Kawasaki effort, the official Team

Kawasaki and Kinko's Kawasaki and Attack Kawasaki have given us over the course of these

last three decades. And to help with those memories I grabbed a couple of shots from the dust

bins to throw in for today's story. Having been taking these pro road racing pictures now since the early '80s, I still have a boat load of scanning to do from the earlier years, so this is in no way indicative nor is it a slam against the rider pics I DIDN'T use on this post. These were handy and seemed good for today so please don't anyone get their panties in a bunch since I didn't have any actions shots of Scott 'The Screaming Chief' Russell or of Doug 'The Triple Threat' Chandler or of a lot of great riders who have thrown a leg over a factory or factory-supported Team Green bike. Again, these were handy and if you have been or will be in the future a follower of Stu's Shots you know I am likely to bring just about anything out at any given time--get your mind out of the gutter as I'm talking about my pics here! You pervs! So just so we are straight on that now, let's take a gander at today's offerings!

Top shot to start off this series is a shot of Doug Chandler's #10 ZXR750 Team Kawasaki Superbike in the paddock at Road America in 2000. Doug won Superbike Championships for

Rob Muzzy and Team Green in '90, '96 and '97.

Next up is Roger Lee Hayden on the #95 Team Kawasaki 600 Super Sport machine while qualifying for the Mid Ohio race in 2005. We then have a shot of Eric Bostrom on the Team Kawasaki #32 ZXR750 while qualifying for the superbike race at Mid Ohio in 2000. Fourth in our series today is Josh Hayes on the Attack Kawasaki ZX10 #41 during the second superbike race of the weekend at Mid Ohio in 2004. And our fifth and final shot today is of Jamie Hacking's

Team Monster Energy ZX-10R Superbike #2 in the Road America paddock in June of '08.

So as you are contemplating as I am that the World Superbike and MotoGP series are looking

even stronger for the 2010 season then they were in '09, let us all take the time to hope and

pray that not only the economy comes back around, but that sometime SOON so does the

AMA Road Racing series here in the good ole U.S. of A. And we can see all of the racers

deserving of a ride and fans deserving of a professionally run series that doesn't come off like

the dirty little red headed step child that it seems to have taken on the look of. But, that's just

me.

Thanks again for coming by and putting up with my rants and opinions and checking out Stu's

Shots. We appreciate you taking time out of your day to drop in and check us out. You rock!