From a press release issued by Eric Bostrom’s manager:

Eric ready for VIR showdown

Although he still needs to erase a 35 point deficit, Eric Bostrom is going to throw everything he has at Nicky Hayden this weekend at the season finale of the AMA Superbike Championship. The finale will take place at the popular VIR circuit in Alton, Virginia (www.virclub.com). “It’s certainly one of the coolest tracks and facilities on the national circuit that we travel to. It’s got a challenging and clean layout, and it’s pretty safe. Unfortunately, passing is limited. It’s certainly a tough track to pass. But that makes you work harder and makes for really close passing.”

It’s clearly been a Nicky vs. Eric battle all year. And despite Nicky having a 250cc displacement advantage over Eric’s bike, it’s been a remarkably close battle between the two. Many people have asked Eric to describe his tough competitor. “Nicky and I first raced against each other back in ’96 on a dirt track. That was probably the first time. Since then, we’ve been going at it and have had some good battles. When it comes down to it, I think Nick and I are two guys you don’t really want to be racing with at the end. We’re pretty aggressive and we do what it takes to win. Maybe our strategies are different in that I really like to set the pace. I like to get out there and set things on fire early. But we both have an aggressive, charge-the-corners riding style. He’s a tough competitor. But I think the same of myself.”

In order for Eric to win the AMA Superbike title this weekend, he needs to not only win both races, but he needs for Nicky to make a big mistake. How does he see the drama unfolding come Sunday? “I don’t know, actually. That’s what’s great about racing. You never know. You obviously show up wanting to win, and nothing else is good enough. And no matter how it ends up, I want to win both races and hold my head up high. And if I can break away from the start and build a big lead and win like that, that’s certainly the ideal way to win. But if I have to race for it till the end, I’ll put myself in the right position to lead across the stripe. Any lower than first place would be a big disappointment for me.”