Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128202
Ben Bostrom By HENNY RAY ABRAMS "Oen Bostrom has the weight of history against him in his return to the championship he left in 1999. Riders returning from overseas tours have found little comfort in the joys of home cooking. The year after former AMA Superbike Champion Doug Chandler returned to the U.S.A. from the Grand Prix wars, he finished 15th in the AMA Superbike standings. Scott Russell, the 1992 AMA Champion, back from his World Superbike/GP career, was 20th on his return. Fred Merkel, eight years removed from winning the last of his three consecutive AMA titles, and after taking the first two World Superbike titles, was 10th when he came back in 1994. Doug Polen won the 1993 AMA Superbike title after consecutive World Superbike Championships then returned to Europe for a season-plus on the Castrol Honda team. Polen was unceremoniously let go by Castrol Honda prior to the 1995 World Superbike season and never won a Superbike race again in his return to the United States. Miguel DuHamel is the closest there is to an exception to the rule. The FrenchCanadian was third in AMA Superbike and won the 600 Supersport class in 1993, the year after his frustrating campaign with the Gauloises Yamaha 500cc GP team. "Choose your team wisely" is the lesson from these cautionary tales. Russell and Chandler both chose to return to the U.S.A. aboard the dismal Harley-Davidson YR1000. Merkel was aboard an outdated Muzzy Kawasaki. Polen, in his second return, bounced around on a variety of noncompetitive mac inery. DuHamel joined the Muzzy Kawasaki -team, which had just won the AMA title, for is return. Bostrom's Honda RC-51 is the standard for Superbike machinery as well as the same model th t Nicky Hayden rode to the 2002 title. W'th a new bi -bore inline four-cylinder cOOlin in 2004, the '03 cam, algn will likely be tile RC-51's last. Honda would i e it to retire with honors. More o n important than the machine 's the team. Bostrom slotted right into the champions~ team Hayden left behind. The inestimable Merlyn Plumlee is the crew chief. What you notice most about Plumlee is that you don' notice him. He works hard, ke s his head down leads his team, and doesn't denigrat others. An one more thing: He wins. That said, the 2003 season is shaping up to be a test of the Bostrom/Plumlee union. From the first time he got back on a Honda V -twin, after three years on a Ducati, Bostrom has been uncomfortable. "The two are complete opposites in every way," __ s Bostrom said after a first impression. lilt's crazy." Yes, he was fast at the December Dunlop Daytona tire test, but Daytona is all about high speed, and the Honda has that in reserve. Daytona also marked the debut of the new Yoshimura GSX-R 1000, impressive at first and immeasurably improved in the interim. And Kawasaki had yet to break cover with the big-bore version of its ZX-7R which was shown six weeks later at Laguna Seca. During an allteams test at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, where this interview was conducted, Bostrom was the slowest of the Superbike riders, just behind an ailing Larry Pegram in his first ride on an all-new Ducati. Then there are the tracks. With the exception of Laguna Seca, which is at the tail end of World Championship-caliber, all of the tracks on the AMA calendar have a corner or two or more that you go through with your heart in your throat, nothing like the many wide, safe, and fast tracks of the world trail. It's fair to say that Bostrom wasn't bowled over on his first visit to California Speedway (Fontana). But then, who was? The 2001 season looked to be the break-out year for Ben Bostrom. Midseason he tied Carl Fogarty's consecutive wins record at five, including a victorious home double at Laguna Seca. He chased the title to the final round, finishing third to teammate Troy Bayliss and Castrol Honda's Colin Edwards. Then it all went wrong. Bostrom never came to grips with the 2002 Ducati in testing, nor in the races. On top of that, he was on the wrong tires. It seemed like a good place to start. After 2001, 2002 wasn't what people e)lpected. Is there anyone thing you can put your finger on? I can put my finger on a couple of things. It's no one's fault. Everyone tried real hard. It's jl:lst weiref'haw one season you go really fast, the next season, I start the season really on fir, wanted to be champion so bad because I fel we didn't get our Q