Tooele (Utah) 18 June 2006: Parts Unlimited Ducati pilot Ben Bostrom continued his quest for victory in the early portions of Sunday's AMA Superbike race at Miller Motorsports Park. Despite a strong challenge that saw him qualify on the front row and fight for the lead in both races, Bostrom had an unfortunate crash while battling for the win. His teammate Neil Hodgson worked his way from outside the top ten to sixth place in the 21-lap race.
Bostrom charged off the line and took the lead on lap one. The Californian led the event for the first three laps, riding the Ducati 999 aggressively in the Utah heat. On lap four, Ben Spies passed Bostrom, but the former series champion stuck to the younger rider's tail. Bostrom closed the gap even tighter over the next few laps and was fighting for the lead on lap seven when he highsided and lost out on his chance for victory.
"The Ducati was capable of running 1:50 flat lap times and I was impressed," said Bostrom. "I had a couple of moments out there while I was in the lead and so I just decided to chill and see how the race developed. Spies passed me, but I was sticking with him. I caught right back up to him so I decided to hammer it again. We were running very close for a while, but then I crashed in a weird spot. I'm okay."
Bostrom suffered a hip contusion after the crash, but felt very positive about his weekend. "Now that we have a half year on the bike, I'm understanding the Ducati 999 much better," said Ben. "From here on out, we'll do our best to challenge for wins starting with the next race at one of my favorite tracks, Laguna Seca."
Hodgson fought through a difficult race. Despite two separate trips through the gravel traps (one in each leg of the red-flagged race), Neil claimed sixth place and kept his fourth pace standing in the series points.
"I made a mistake in both legs that cost me everything, really," said Hodgson after the race. "It's frustrating. I guess I was fortunate to climb back up to sixth but I wanted more from the weekend."
The next race for the Parts Unlimited Ducati Team is July 21-23 at Laguna Seca.
Results:1.Jake Zemke, Honda
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki
3. Ben Spies, Suzuki
4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda
5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki
6. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati
7. Aaron Yates, Suzuki
8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki
9. Steve Rapp, Suzuki
10. Matt Lynn, Suzuki DNF Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati.
AMA Superbike Points (after 11 races): 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 388
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 367
3. Miguel Duhamel, 302
4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 288
5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 278
6. Jake Zemke, Honda 273
7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 272
8. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 244
Related Linkswww.ducati.com
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