From a pair of press releases, the first issued on behalf of Eric Bostrom and the second issued on behalf of Ben Bostrom:

First, Eric Bostrom’s release:
Eric has been pretty busy since his 5th place run at Daytona over a week ago. He traveled home to Las Vegas and also has spent some time at his southern California ranch. “Well, I’m licking my wounds a bit after Daytona. I’m sure Ben would like to do it over again, but I don’t. The test we just had at Sears Point (Infineon) was very successful, though. It seemed like we were setting the pace all day. Mostly we were trying to dial in the new design of the track. It seems a lot safer now and more raceable. It’s still a tight track. It’s still Sears Point, you know, so it’ll be a lot of work to get around there and will be quite a workout. But we ran through some different suspension settings and tested some other things on the bike and everything worked pretty well.”

“After Daytona, Ben and I have been doing our usual routine; having a great time, rock climbing, of course, and surfing. Our house (in Vegas) is coming along pretty well, too, as we’re doing some pretty extensive work to it. We also went dirt tracking. It was pretty fun. Both my mechanics, Dan and Kenny, and also Ben and myself. I was on my KLX400, which is all dirt-tracked out. We were mostly out there swapping bikes around, just trying to figure out how to make the best bike. Everybody was pretty competitive. The next night we did Danny Walker’s Supercamp. Ben and I were blasting around with Shawn Russell and Danny and the rest of his staff. It was a real good time.”

And finally, for the biggest news shocker in this update, Eric’s manager (Norm Viano, aka ‘Lawdog’) has presented a further title incentive for Eric. The bet made with Eric is as follows: If Eric wins the AMA Superbike title, Norm will enter the Pit Daddy contest! And not only enter the contest, but also wear whatever outfit Eric makes him wear.

“Norm is a brave guy for not only agreeing to enter the Pit Daddy contest, but to leave it in my hands by agreeing to go out there in whatever outfit I can come up with. I’d be very worried if I were him. And I’m feeling pretty good about this year. I’m looking forward to getting on with things and leading the way with the number one plate. He might be wishing he hadn’t made that bet.

“Maybe Ben will help throw the championship just to see that sight, though!”


Now, Ben Bostrom’s release:
“Since Daytona, I have been replaying that last lap in my head about a hundred times. I wish I had had eyes in the back of my head, because I would have done the chicane a lot differently. Miguel wouldn’t have gotten by me. It’s a bummer.

“After Daytona, I flew to Charlotte to do the Speed Channel show with Greg White. I took some big hits off a RedBull during the whole show. It’s funny, because people were asking me about it afterwards, even wondering if it was a prop or a fake can! It was real, man, and I drank it! I only had three hours of sleep, I needed it. After the show I flew home and got even less sleep the next night. I was just running it.

“After things settled down a bit, we went climbing and surfing, and we also went dirt tracking. We did the Danny Walker school too, which was fun. Everyone was really cool at the school and riding really well, actually. And I was impressed with how Danny taught the school. He knows those 100s so well. He really knows those bikes. And Danny doesn’t care if you crash, he just wants to help you ride those bikes and to learn. I learned quite a bit myself, actually. It’s amazing, you always learn. Every time you get on a bike, you learn.

“We headed up to Sears Point (Infineon) afterwards for a quick test. I hadn’t been to the track in about four years and it is quite a bit different from when I was there last. They actually made the track much safer and it even has two more passing areas now. And they are right at the end of the racetrack, where you can set someone up for a finish line pass. Some thought the new design hurt the flow of the track, but I thought it was really fun and even provided a few more technical corners than before. It was just as much fun to ride as before, just safer.

“Overall, I’m feeling good about my decision to come home. The two best series in the world right now are AMA Superbike and MotoGP. All the factories are putting all their support into these two. They both have the majority of the best riders and bikes. It all leads to the best racing. You’re always going to have more than several guys up front, going really fast. So I’m really excited and happy with my choice. My bikes are fantastic, and I find myself on another good team.

“Oh, and no way am I going to throw the championship just to see Norm in a thong.”