Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

h's goqF. Like I said, I jirst wanted to see v/hat we could do for one good hard lap, There's still some more ig it, morc in me. lt was a good test. We got througli a burrch of stufi. I'm workirE on my feedback skills add that's Eetting b€fter and better and better. I think v\le're going in the rigtrt direction for 8efting my bike se,t up for me and I'm learning how to do that." Of fhe new tires, Spies said he found one that was atiout rwo-tenths a lap hster than the other tires. "lThe three new tires they brought here were way bltter: I think the fastest I went on last year's race tite was 39.5 and that was 8ood. We did a 37.9 on whpt we're Soing to be racinS on now. And we might lring the same compound we raced on, iust with the new construction. The new constrLrqtion's definitbly better. lt's ,ust more solid, more dr.fable. Dunl+'s done a good iob with that." The annual three-day tire test was actually two. Rain *iped out the second day and cold weather moved in on the third day. The repaYed infield section mean{ one more variable for the riderc and increased tire h/iear at a time when most of the riders were on new equipment and many were on new teams. Beh Bostrom was the surprise of the test. His 2005 iWorld Superbike campaign was a disaster by almoit any measure. The team was a mess, under- flnanded and unfocused. And Bostrom had to ride over L,is head to appear competitive. That persist- ence in the face of adversit),/ is what attracted him to Duc+i Corse boss Paolo Ciabbafti, who signed Ben to rgplace his brother Eric on the Ducati Austin squad, as Neil Hodgson's teammate for 2006. B{n Bostrom finished fie first day of the test sec- ond lfastest. The second day was rained out. Bosttom was back in second on the final day, nearly the Fstest, but wasn't because of his crash late on MoniJay afternoon. "frry surprised," Bostrom said after lapping abo{t a half a second slower than spies. "l iusr exp4cted to come and hang ou! and ride the bike and wait for the nex! test. As it rurned out from day onejlsard I love this bike. And when you like a bike the fimes come easier. ' The new Ducati is 'fanustic," Bostrom said. "ThF biggest asset is the feedback it gives you. I knolar we'll make one small change, I take one lap, halfrof a Iap, I know the change has already worked or if's not. I finish my lap and I just come back in. lt's real easy to make qualiry laps on the bike and every linlt change is very sensitive." the return ro the United States meant the retum to iunlop tires after a year on the Pirelli spec tires of World Sr-rperbike. ll went thror-rgh every one of them,'' he said o{ thq tires. "They're just better in different spots. Thire's no special tire. Nothing's good everlwhere. I tliink ir's Sood here and there, I think everybody w$ hoping they'd find a miracle, but nothinS was go{ng to happen," jSpeaking ofthe crash, Bostrom explained that his fodt had slipped off the rear brake "and I was Eoing to.run off the track, I iust lost rhe front." He admit- red rhat he 'was having a lirtle bit of trouble on the wgekend. I probably should've extended the brake pqdal and shifter, and I paid the price. The foot slifped off, then I was all on the front brake trying ndt to run into the grass. I iust panicked a little bit arid grabbed too much front brake and iust lost the f*nt. I thought it was going to be a very easy crash arid it was for the rider, a very easy crash, But for t(e bike... it ended up flippinS-" 6. \ lal Yoshimura Suzr-rki's Aaron Yates ended up third fastest, anoth- er half second off Bostrom and comfortably in front of Hodgson. Hodgson wasn't the fish out of water that he was at theJanuary tire test. Back then, he spent much ofthe first day questioning everything from hii sanity to his choice of profession. This time he was up to speed quickly, though not as quickly as he'd hoped. "l tried on my second to go flat out oh the banking just to say I did it, but I couldn't, but I did it on my founh lap," Hodgson said. 'And I iust held it like that and 8ot into sixth gear and said,'l can't believe how good this feels."' The Englishman hit a wall on the final day and couldn't improve on his fourth fastest time. "lt's obviousl/ frustratinE when your teammate's faster than you by a bit," \ I Yamoho's Joson DiSqJvo doorinoed fic lhrca ruFport cloler during lding ot ryono. T v.' -a he said of Bostrom, who was nearly a sec- ond quicker. "But k's just one of those things. Just a funny old place, this place, slowly chipping a\May with it at the end and starting to a rt feel more comfortable. lt's not been a disastrous test. I didn't panic, ln this situation you could quite easily panic, you know what I mean, I didn't panic. lt's okay." Jake Zemke was the firtt of the Hondas in fifth place, half a second back from Hodgson. The 2005 season had been spent developinS the Honda CBR|OOORR as a Eri< Bostrom mode his Yqmnho dcbut ol *l. lir€ tert I I{cil Hodgron wqs bock for his serond Dunlop test ond Doylonq ond this time he wos muth more .omlodqble. - I ", llt ) I t -$/' 1 ( f , C ;.. q .\ CYCLE NEWS JANUARY I I, 2006 3I @ Ii ,Ii 7-. l, o -+-.::.:-. +gs, s t -:a L-/ # 11, @ { t t * (t Nl ,o,\ I -.\ I

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