From a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki regarding the World Superbike race actually scheduled for May 12:

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 5 – MONZA, ITALY
30 APRIL 2002 – RIDER ANNOUNCEMENT

ERIC BOSTROM TO SUBSTITUTE FOR INJURED IZUTSU AT MONZA

Reigning AMA Supersport 600 Champion, and AMA Superbike regular, Eric Bostrom has been drafted into the Kawasaki Racing Team for round five of the World Superbike Championship at Monza on March 5th (sic). The American will replace Fuchs Kawasaki’s regular rider, Hitoyasu Izutsu, who was injured in a qualifying crash at Sugo.

Bostrom, who made his 2002 World Superbike debut as a wild card entry at Sugo, will fly out to Europe to join the Kawasaki Racing Team early next week. Despite never having raced at Monza before, the American, known as ‘The Boss’ by fans back in the States, already has a game plan in mind for his second World Superbike appearance of the season.

‘I’m a little bit anxious about racing at Monza,’ commented Bostrom. ‘I feel that I need to kind of redeem myself over what happened at Sugo. I know I’m going to be a little behind the ball there, never having seen the track before, but I’ll go out initially and follow some of the more experienced guys, probably follow Ben for a bit. Once I know my way around, I’ll try and step it up on Saturday for Superpole and then race with the guys on Sunday. I know that the Kawasaki riders have gone well at the track in the past and I’d obviously like to keep up that tradition.’

For Izutsu, who fractured the radius bone in his left forearm after highsiding his Fuchs Kawasaki at the notorious chicane during the opening qualifying session at Sugo, the road back to full fitness is likely to be measured in months rather than weeks. The former Japanese Superbike Champion is undergoing treatment on his injured arm back home in Japan, but a date for his return to the world championship has yet to be set.