Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom was slated to race in the Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport final at Daytona International Speedway on the brand new 2003 Kawasaki ZX-6RR, but due to the rain delay of the Supersport race until Sunday before the 200-mile Superbike race, Bostrom will sit the Daytona AMA Supersport race out.

“I think at this point we will pull Eric off the 600,” Kawasaki Road Race Team Manager Michael Preston told Roadracingworld.com Saturday. “Our main focus this year was for sure Superbike with Eric. The Daytona 200 is a demanding race. That’s where we want to put our focus with Eric. I think we don’t want to take any chances with the 600 and how the day is turning out.

“I think Eric is the fittest guy in the paddock of anybody, but we have a couple of our competitors – (Mat) Mladin, (Anthony) Gobert – they’re focused (on) Superbike and they’re here to win.”

Ducati Austin Team Manager Tom Bondenbach, however, doesn’t feel his rider, Gobert, has an advantage over the riders who will race in both the AMA Supersport and Daytona 200 races on Sunday.

“I wouldn’t say we have advantages at this point,” said Bodenbach. “You don’t know if the 600s are actually going to run before us. It looks like it will be raining. I’m guessing you’ll only be able to get the Superbikes in on Sunday.”

Speculation about the weather forecast aside, Universal Studios/American Honda Team Coordinator Ray Plumb confirmed that Miguel Duhamel, Ben Bostrom and Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts will all race in both Supersport and Superbike at Daytona on Sunday. Likewise, Yoshimura Suzuki Team Manager Don Sakakura reported that both Aaron Yates and Ben Spies will race their GSX-R600s as well as their GSX-R1000s, weather permitting, on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the rain-altered schedule has forced plans to be changed among the privateers as well. Team EMGO Taiwan’s Chris “Opie” Caylor and Barden Bearings/Woodcraft’s Eric Wood will either skip the Daytona 200 altogether or make only a few laps, to concentrate on racing their GSX-R750s to win in the Superstock final, which will immediately follow the Superbike classic on Sunday.

Jason Perez, an 18-year-old Daytona rookie, will have to race the BMW Boxer Cup and AMA Supersport sprints back-to-back.

Sunday’s intense race schedule may be the toughest on the crew members who will have to tend to Supersport machines and Superbikes and handle all of the additional chores associated with the two-pit-stop, 200-mile Superbike race.

“We’ve had some (race weekends) before where they’ve delayed the Superstock anyway, so we’ve run a couple of races on Sunday,” said Preston. “(But) because it’s the 200, it takes additional manpower with the pit stops, the signaling area and all that kind of stuff. It makes it more complicated because some of those guys work on the 600s and the Superstock bikes. If it was just another sprint race it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.”

“I’m old enough to have been around back when we used to do the 600 race and the Superbike race in the same day,” said Ben Bostrom’s Crew Chief, Merlyn Plumlee, “and it’s really hard to do. It’s so much work. Luckily, they (Daytona International Speedway) are going to let us in early to set up. It’s a lot of work, but it’s really hard on the riders.”