Sunday Jun 4 2006
Road America - Race 2

Elkhart Lake (Wisconsin) 4 June 2006: Parts Unlimited Ducati's Neil Hodgson rallied to finish fourth on his Ducati 999 at Road America and teammate Ben Bostrom completed Sunday's 16-lap race in seventh place. The race was red-flagged on lap six and restarted, setting the stage for a late race showdown.

Hodgson's charge started from sixth place at the beginning of lap 14. The former World Superbike champion put his head down and made a pass of Aaron Yates. Hodgson made his move for position into the daunting turn one at Road America, a high-speed right hander. The Englishman held off his rival's furious attempts to pass, then moved past Miguel Duhamel as he came up the hill to take the checkered flag. The three riders crossed the line within 0.4 seconds.



"I was riding very hard out there, trying to use up every inch of the road," said the Isle of Man resident. "It's always good battling with Aaron because he's a hard charger. If you can pass him, you know you've done well. I got out in front of him, so I knew it would be difficult for him to pass me on this track. Despite it being a power circuit, a good rider can hold off a pass attempt at Road America."

Hodgson remains fourth in AMA Superbike points. "We're looking forward to going to Miller Motorsports Park for the next race. I think the track suits our bike, too," said Hodgson.

Ben Bostrom rose to fourth on the restart but finished seventh after tire issues. "We've been getting decent starts and that's cool. I wasn't really happy with the tires today but I was happier with the bike. We learned a lot this weekend. It's clear there is much more potential with the bike than the fans are seeing with our results right now and we are looking forward to going to Utah at the next race to show it."

The next race for the Parts Unlimited Ducati Team is June 16-18 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.

Race two results: 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 2. Ben Spies, Suzuki 3. Jake Zemke, Honda 4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 7. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 8. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki 10. Jake Holden, Suzuki

AMA Superbike points (after nine races): 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 322, 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 301, 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 251 4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 236 5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 229 6. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 220 7. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 215 8. Jake Zemke, Honda 214 9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki 192 10. Larry Pegram, Honda 170