HODGSON FOURTH IN AMA SUPERBIKE POINTS AFTER BIRMINGHAM
Leeds (Alabama) 23 April 2006: Parts Unlimited Ducati Team
racers Neil Hodgson and Eric Bostrom finished fifth and sixth
in the Sunday AMA Superbike contest from Birmingham, Alabama.
Hodgson finished 4.511 seconds behind winner Ben Spies in
the red-flagged 28-lap race, taking fifth in an eight-lap
shootout and finishing in front of teammate and fellow Ducati
999 pilot Ben Bostrom.
Neil is now fourth in AMA Superbike points after three races.
"It was really a frustrating weekend for us because we
expect more than this. As riders, I can assure you Ben and
I are riding really, really hard, but we just aren't seeing
it in the lap times," said Hodgson. "We really don't
have the answers right now. As for the restart, I decided
to push things past the limit. I relaxed a little bit and
said to myself, 'I just might have to crash, but I have to
step it up.' In a weekend like this one, you don't think so
much about the championship so much. I might as well just
go past the limit, to ignore the warning signs. I did and
I went a little quicker."
"I'm just glad we get to race next weekend at Fontana
because at least we don't have to wait so long to get another
shot at it. That track does suit our bike better and I had
a good race there last year," he said.
Ben Bostrom was sixth, feeling better but still bothered
by sinus problems. "Since I was sick and we were struggling
anyway, we treated the weekend more like a test. We made big
changes with every session. In the red flag, we made another
change to the bike and found some more time and I was able
to push a little harder. Neil and I ran together most of today
and we were pretty evenly matched in most of the sections."
The Parts Unlimited Ducati Team will next race at California
Speedway in Fontana, CA, April 28-30.
Results: 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 2. Miguel
Duhamel, Honda 3. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki
5. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 6. Ben Bostrom, Parts
Unlimited Ducati 7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 8. Jacob Holden,
Suzuki 9. Larry Pegram, Honda 10. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki
Standings (after three races): 1. Ben Spies,
Suzuki 107 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 99 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda
88 4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 78 5. Aaron Yates,
Suzuki 76 5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 76 7. Ben Bostrom, Parts
Unlimited Ducati 71 8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki 64 9. Jake Zemke,
Suzuki 52 10. Larry Pegram, Honda 52
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