From a press release:

Not thrilled, but not unhappy. That would describe Eric Bostrom’s post-Daytona mood. The media-picked favorite to win the 2003 AMA Superbike Championship finished the first race in a lonely fifth position. “All in all I’m happy to step out, away from Daytona in one piece, with a race finish and with decent points. That’s pretty much what this race is all about. You know, I would like to win this race someday. Maybe next year when we have the new 1000, but right now, it’s just too difficult for us.”

The #32 rider rode strong for much of the race and was in touch with the leaders on his ZX-7RR, despite giving up horsepower to the 1000’s on the NASCAR track. “I’m happy with how the race started. I was up there battling with the guys. And then on the tire after the second pit stop, I don’t know, I just seemed to have trouble getting going on it. We had some troubles. I about tipped over a couple times. And then I just fell out of the draft, so I was done. At that point the race got pretty lonely and I just conserved it to the finish.”

Meanwhile, brother Ben, who many consider Eric’s biggest title challenger, just missed out winning his first Daytona 200 by finishing a very close 2nd. “I was disappointed for Ben. But he probably did me a favor, though, getting less points at the beginning of the season like that. I certainly anticipate him being tough all year long. And as much as I’d like to see him win the race, I think he did me a favor by not winning it because it’ll be a little bit easier for us to catch up with him.”

Indeed. Especially considering Daytona was only round 1 of 18. It’s certainly going to be a fun and interesting championship to watch.