Wednesday Mar 29 2006
Testing - Barber

Neil Hodgson and Ben Bostrom of the Parts Unlimited Ducati Team tested at Barber Motorsports Park on Monday and Tuesday. Both riders saw their schedule put into fast forward mode on Tuesday afternoon because of weather issues. Wet conditions at the tight 2.3-mile circuit on Tuesday morning kept the teams off the track until noon, but the afternoon saw a flurry of action on the Birmingham track. Fortunately, both riders were able to complete the testing program for their Ducati 999 Superbikes.

Neil Hodgson saw a best lap of 1:25.7, good for fourth fastest. "It was a good test for us here at a circuit that doesn't really suit our bike's strengths. We tested a lot of things and eliminated some possibilities for the race weekend, for sure. It should help us get up to speed quicker. I'm positive for the race but this is one of those tracks where the rider really needs to muscle the bike around," said Hodgson, who finished fourth at Barber last season. "It's a very physical track."


"It's going to be a lot of hard work, but I think the key is being consistent over the course of the race," said Ben Bostrom, whose best lap on the day was 1:26.5. "The good thing about today is that we were able to get more laps in and learn some things."

"Despite the rain, we were able to complete our test program," said Team Technical Manager Gabriele Raccio. "We felt we made real progress with Neil over the two days. Ben and his crew tried a lot of different configurations with his bike and we are confident he will do well in the race when we come back."

The next AMA Superbike race is the Barber Motorsports Park round, April 14-16.

Unofficial Lap Times
1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 1:24.7
2. Ben Spies, Suzuki 1:25.3
3. Jake Zemke, Honda 1:25.6
4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 1:25.6
4. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 1:25.6
6. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki 1:26.0
7. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 1:26.1
8. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 1:26.4
9. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 1:26.5