среда, 19 сентября 2012 г.

DOUBTFUL BOSTROM WINS SUPERBIKE TITLE FAST PPIR START GIVES LAS VEGAS RESIDENT FOURTH VICTORY IN RACE.(Sports) - Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

Byline: Steve Trivett

SPECIAL TO THE NEWS

FOUNTAIN -- According to the surfer, Friday was a bummer.

Sunday turned into a winner for the rock climber.

Eric Bostrom, who surfs and climbs when he isn't racing motorcycles, sat in his trailer late Friday and bemoaned the fact that he and his Kawasaki 800 weren't handling the usually friendly Pikes Peak International Raceway very well.

Two days later, Bostrom rode that same Kawasaki to victory in the American Motorcycle Association Cruise America Chevy Trucks Superbike Championship in a rain- delayed, wreck-shortened final.

``Going in, I had no idea who was going to win,'' Bostrom said. ``There were six guys who could have won, and I wasn't real sure I was one of them. We had fought it every practice session.''

Bostrom took care of three pretenders less than 10 seconds after the green flag fell. It took him one lap to overtake the last.

Starting fifth on the grid, Bostrom, who won this race in 1998, 2000 and 2002, jumped to second behind Anthony Gobert immediately after the start, then caught him going into the second lap.

Bostrom had pushed his lead to more than 5 seconds over Kurtis Roberts when a red flag came out after a wreck and oil spill on lap 41 of the 49-lap event - causing officials to declare the race over because the leader had finished more than 80 percent of the scheduled laps.

``At the start, it was either go on the paint (the inside line of the track) or back off,'' Bostrom said. ``Backing off didn't seem like an option.''

Backing off never was an option for the 26-year-old Las Vegas resident who grew up on the California coast.

``I had a good time (Sunday),'' Bostrom said. ``It was a ride-your-

(rear)-off race the whole way. That start set us on fire.''

Three hours before the green flag fell, it was doubtful the race would happen.

A thunderstorm pelted the track for almost two hours starting at noon (the original starting time), and postponement was an option until an hour before the race finally started at 3:45 p.m.

``That made it even more exciting,'' Bostrom said. ``I was certain nearly all day that we weren't going to be able to race at all. That makes it even sweeter.''

Roberts finished second on his Honda by more than 6 seconds over pole-sitter Aaron Yates, the yearlong Superbike points leader.

``At the beginning we didn't get the start that we wanted,'' Roberts said. ``And Eric stepped up the pace right from the start. I knew where Aaron was, and I didn't want to melt the tires putting on a big charge, and all of a sudden the race was over.''

Yates, who had taken the pole in qualifying Saturday, had to battle with Ben Bostrom, Eric's older brother, on the 32nd lap to get into third and couldn't make a run at the top two before the race was red- flagged.

``I think I was picking up on Kurtis and was ready to go after him when the red flag killed it,'' said Yates, who has a 244-239 lead over Bostrom in the standings.

Mat Mladin, Yates' Suzuki teammate who was second in the points standings heading into PPIR, had to pit on the 35th lap because of tire problems and finished ninth, which dropped him to third in the standings halfway through the season.

Chevy Trucks Superbike

Name, Hometown, Bike, Interval

1. Eric Bostrom, Las Vegas, Kawasaki 800, 40 laps; 2. Kurtis Roberts, Hickman, Calif., Honda 1000, +5.25; 3. Aaron Yates, Milledgeville, Ga., Suzuki 1000, +11.59; 4. Ben Bostrom, Las Vegas, Honda 1000, +12.57; 5. Anthony Gobert, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Ducati 998, +21.83.

6. Jason Pridmore, Ventura, Calif., Suzuki 1000, +29.94; 7. Miguel Duhamel, Repetigny, Canada., Honda 1000, +34.62; 8. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ontario, Suzuki 1000, +38.26; 9. Mat Mladin, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Suzuki 1000, +40.09; 10. Steve Rapp, Coronado, Calif., Suzuki 1000, +50.70;

11. Ricky Orlando, Erie, Suzuki 750, 39 laps; 12. Daniel Turner, Fort Collins, Yamaha 1000, +0.38; 13. Shawn Higbee, Big Bend, Wis., Suzuki 1000, +4.54; 14. Pascal Picotte, Repetigny, Canada., Yamaha 1000, +8.96; 15. Mike Sullivan, Centralia, Wash., Suzuki 1000, +22.64.

Others

34. Gregory Glennie, Boulder, Yamaha 1000, 1 lap; 40. Sean Fry, Denver, Yamaha 1000, did not start.

Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport Championship

1. Jamie Hacking, Greer, S.C., Yamaha 600, 20 laps; 2. Aaron Gobert, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha 600, +0.28 secs.; 3. Jason Disalvo, Stafford, N.Y., Yamaha 600, +0.91; 4. Damon Buckmaster, Cypress, Calif., Yamaha 600, +2.20; 5. Tommy Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Kawasaki 599, +5.50.

Others

18. Martin Sims, Denver, Suzuki 600, +59.51; 21. Terry Skogen, Carbondale, Yamaha 600, 19 laps; 22. David Lambert, Pueblo, Suzuki 600, 19 laps; 24. Darin Scherer, Thornton, Yamaha, 600, 19 laps; 27. Jeff Grace, Colorado Springs, Yamaha 600, 19 laps.

28. Will Sequino, Highlands Ranch, Yamaha 600, 19 laps; 29. Torsten Zorn, Boulder, Suzuki 600, 14 laps; 31. Michael Applehans, Denver, Suzuki 600, 7 laps; 35. Elton Curry, Denver, Yamaha 600, did not finish. 37. Mike McCracken, Louisville, Suzuki 600, did not finish.

MBNA Grand Prix

1. Richard Oliver, Auberry, Calif., Yamaha 250, 20 laps; 2. Charles Sorensen, San Jose, Calif., Aprilia 250, +8.42 secs; 3. Simon Turner, Miami, Honda 250, +14.81; 4. Colin Jensen, Ketchum, Idaho, Aprilia 250, +38.20; 5. Edward Marchini, Placerville, Calif., Yamaha 250, +42.49.

Others

12. Russell Strobridge, Northglenn, Yamaha 250, 19 laps; 16. David Gallant, Denver, Yamaha 250, 19 laps; 19. Silbanio Trujillo, Westminster, Yamaha 250, 19 laps; 23. John Burbach, Colorado Springs, Yamaha 250, 18 laps.