Eric Bostrom has enjoyed a long, successful racing career. He’s ridden Ducatis, Harley-Davidsons, Hondas, Kawasakis and Yamahas but never a Suzuki. That changed the first week of June when the 33-year-old Californian took his first laps on the Team Cycle World Attack Performance Yoshimura Suzuki AMA Pro American SuperBike at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch near the desert town of Pahrump, Nevada.
“Everything feels great!” was Bostrom’s reaction to the GSX-R1000 after his taking his first few laps on the bike. His end-of-day point of view wasn’t much different. “I can’t think of many times—maybe on a few 600s—when I’ve just sat on a bike, gone out on the track and not had any major drama,” he smiled. “It does everything well.”
The day before the test, Bostrom and I drove from the CW editorial offices in Newport Beach to Las Vegas. I’ve spent more time with Valentino Rossi than with Eric, so I was looking forward to the drive. Turns out, the youngest of the three Bostrom brothers is a pleasant road companion. He’s well-read, particularly in the fields of biology and geology, and a good conversationalist. He also enjoys an innate sense of direction. Anyway, we rolled into Las Vegas just after dark and enjoyed a relaxing meal and a glass of wine at a Mexican restaurant near the home that Bostrom shares with his older brother, Ben.
Eric Bostrom got his first taste of the Team Cycle World Attack Performance Yoshimura Suzuki at Spring Mountain Motorsports Park. “One of the steps forward was a really big front-end slide,” he said. “The motorcycle didn’t do anything strange. It just corrected itself.”
When Bostrom and I arrived at Spring Mountain the next morning, the Attack Performance crew—company principal Richard Stanboli and mechanics Dan Schwartz and James “J.J.” Matter—were already unloading the team’s semi and setting up the pit. Bostrom hadn’t seen Spring Mountain in roughly a decade and was impressed by its growth. Ownership changed hands in 2004, and the facility now has a resort feel, with rows of condominiums and private garages. Amenities include a racquetball court, gun range, fitness center, pool and posh clubhouse. Business appears to be booming, even in a down economy.
Stanboli is a veteran of the U.S. Army, having reached the rank of first lieutenant, infantry. So it comes as no bolt from the blue that he runs Attack Performance with military-like efficiency. Stanboli’s gleaming truck—still bearing bright-green paint; he headed Kawasaki’s U.S. roadracing effort from 2004-09—is spotless. Inside, each tool has its place.
According to Stanboli, Spring Mountain is a good test track. The 2.2-mile layout features a little bit of everything: high speeds, hard braking zones, quick transitions, long turns and bumps. His plan was straightforward: Run the bike and document Bostrom’s reactions to the base settings provided by Yoshimura Racing’s Peter Doyle, long-serving engineer for seven-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin and working this season with Blake Young, Kevin Schwantz’s current protégé.
Before Bostrom rolled onto the track for the first time, Schwartz leaned toward the rider and said, “New pads, new rotors, new tires.” Bostrom nodded, then accelerated toward Turn 1. Stanboli asked which bike Bostrom was riding. I looked at him quizzically, and he smiled, then explained that in past years he’d been responsible for as many as four riders and eight bikes; our little team has but one of each.
Between sessions, Bostrom had a lot of positive things to say about the Suzuki. “It’s a lot different than the last Yamaha R1 I rode. It takes the throttle really well. Good grip. It turns really well, too.” As his lap times improved, Bostrom became more specific with his descriptions of the bike and its on-track behavior. “Are you up to speed enough to make a change?” asked Stanboli.
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