2002 World SuperBike Championship - Round 9 - Laguna Seca

Kawasaki's Eric Bostrom showed a host of World Superbike regulars the way home in both World Superbike races at Laguna Seca this afternoon. The 26-year-old Californian overcame front end chatter problems to finish sixth in race one; surpassing that with a fourth place finish in the second outing of the day - after leading the field during the early part of the race.

'The bike felt real good during the AMA race yesterday, but we had problems with chatter in Superpole and again during this morning's warm-up session,' said Bostrom. 'The front end still wasn't right for the first race and it was only after we stripped the forks in the interval that we discovered that I'd busted the valves landing a big celebration wheelie after my AMA win yesterday.'

Despite the front end problems, Bostrom went on to finish sixth in the first race; ahead of a host of World Superbike regulars.

'I couldn't make up the ground that I lost at the start, despite holding the throttle in a death grip for 28 laps - I swear those throttle cables are an inch longer than they were before the start of the race! I was hoping to get up amongst the leaders during the race, but I guess sixth place wasn't too bad.'

A lightning start in race two saw Bostrom shoot through from the second row to take the lead, much to the delight of the American race fans lining the Laguna circuit. After battling with the leading three riders in the Championship for 28 laps, the Californian eventually had to settle for fourth place at the chequered flag.

'What an awesome feeling it is to lead a World Superbike race,' declared the reigning AMA Supersport 600 Champion. 'It felt like I was in front for an eternity, when in reality it was only for six laps or so. It felt real good to know that, for that short time, the World Champion was behind me. Obviously I'd have preferred to finish on the box, but I was happy enough with fourth. I can't wait for my next World Superbike outing at Oschersleben now.'

For Chris Walker, starting from so far down the grid was always going to cause problems, but the 30-year-old Fuchs Kawasaki rider got a flyer from the line, making up five places by the first corner. After dicing with Doug Chandler and Frankie Chili for most of the 28 lap race, Walker managed to hold off the two Ducati riders to take eleventh place at the line.

'I got moved up a row when Gregorio Lavilla opted to sit out the first race, and that put me on the inside of the track for the start,' said Walker. 'I got away from the line pretty well and drove up the inside towards the first turn, but then I got boxed in as everyone closed up in the braking area - I think I maybe need to hook another gear there in race two. I had a good battle with Doug Chandler and Frankie Chili early on in the race but by the time I'd worked my way past them, Mat Mladin was six seconds ahead and out of reach. Frankie tried to mug me on the line at the end, but I got good drive out of the final turn and just managed to hold him off.'

A wrong tyre choice in race two meant that Walker was struggling for grip just six laps into the race, but still managed to improve on his race one result by crossing the line in tenth place.

'We had two tyres to choose from for race two, and I chose the wrong one,' said Walker. 'Six laps in and the rear was spinning up everywhere and, even though I could see Toseland and Chili pulling away from me, there was nothing I could do about it. Overall, I've had a good weekend. The Laguna Seca circuit is awesome and, now I've had a chance to learn my way around, I'm looking forward to coming back next year.'