HODGSON AND BOSTROM SEEK DAYTONA GLORY The Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin team will kick off their 2005 AMA Superbike campaign this week at Daytona International Speedway in Saturday’s Superbike race. The team’s riders, Neil Hodgson and Eric Bostrom, look to keep up their testing momentum and make their mark early in the 2005 campaign at Daytona on board their factory Ducati 999s. Hodgson, a resident of the Isle of Man, raced at the Speedway in the early ’90s but this event marks his first as a full-time AMA racer. In winter testing leading up to this event, Neil was the fastest rider at Laguna Seca and was very quick at the Daytona test. “Things are going very well at the moment,” said the 2003 World Superbike champion. “I was able to test three times — two in the States — this off-season and everything has been very promising. I like the way the Ducati 999 is handling and making power. I’m looking forward to racing in America against some very tough competition this year.” For Bostrom, 2005 will serve as a comeback year after a shoulder injury ended his 2004 season early. Eric won pole for last year’s prestigious Daytona race. “We’re still trying to gel, but when the green flag drops, it’s on,” said Bostrom. “I’d love to win this race for Ducati and myself. I won pole last year and ran strong in the race, so we know it’s possible. The weather wasn’t too kind to us at our last test and we could have used every possible lap. The shoulder feels strong and I’m looking forward to getting more time on the bike.” “The team is looking forward to getting the season underway,” said team manager Tom Bodenbach. “Our two tests were productive, although we would have liked better weather for the Laguna Seca test. We feel good about how our test went at Daytona, though, and hope we can make the positive things that happened at the January test continue into the first race weekend of the year. The team has been working very hard preparing for Daytona and it will be exciting working with Neil and Eric this season,” he concluded. The Circuit The Daytona International Speedway circuit located on the eastern coast of Florida has been hosting motorcycle events since the 1960s when the historic race moved to the track from a combination road/beach course. Known for the high-speed drafting battles, the banked turns of the Speedway (which reach 31 degrees) have seen many exciting Superbike races over the years. A challenging series of infield turns counter the demands of the banking and make bike setup a tough compromise for the AMA riders and teams. For this season, a new track layout will debut. A new infield section replaces part of the banking, shortening the lap distance from 3.56 miles (5.7 kilometers) to 2.95 miles (4.7 kilometers). While Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom holds the current track record of 1:46.835 on the old course, a new track record will come from this year’s qualifying. Now that the flagship 200 Mile race is only run to Formula Extreme and Supersport format following a change in regulations by promoting body AMA, the Daytona Superbike race this Saturday will be held over 15 laps. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: HASKOVEC AND MAY WIN AT DAYTONA In its first event on Pirelli tires, Team M4 EMGO Suzuki won three Formula USAraces last weekend at Daytona. The team also won two pole positions during the F-USA weekend and hopes to continue the momentum into AMA competition this week. Geoff May and Vincent Haskovec finished first and second on their 2005 GSX-R1000s in Unlimited Supersport, marking the first win for the new model Suzuki GSX-R1000 in North America. In Unlimited GP, Haskovec beat May in a two-rider breakaway. In F-USA Superbike, Haskovec came from row 10 on the grid to battle for the lead, moving up into the front of the pack on his Suzuki GSX-R600 before another rider drafted past and then dove for the pits on the last lap. “I didn’t know he was pulling in and there was a so close moment when he sat up on the banking as I was trying to make my move. “Both bikes are great and I can’t say enough about my team. I gave them some extra work when I crashed the 600 on the first day (of F-USA practice) and it took a lot of effort for them to get a bike ready to race for Sunday,” Vincent continued. “And that bike was good enough to win the race, which should tell you something about them.” May won pole and was credited with third place in the F-USA Sportbike race. “I think they had a little issue with their transponders. It was pretty clear to us that I finished second, and (scored-as-second) Jason Perez agreed. We’ll get it sorted out with the organizers. As for the race, I won pole and finished second on the track by about half a bike length. The bike is really working well and our times were faster than our times at the test, so it’s looking good for this weekend. “It was my first race weekend with the team and we had some good race results. I’m really happy,” said May. “I’m glad the team brought me on and now I want to help pay them back.” Team M4 EMGO Suzuki began its AMA season today, Wednesday, in Daytona.