[Henners]

Originally posted on Ducati.comParts Unlimited Ducati Austin's Neil Hodgson and Eric Bostrom took on the AMA Superbike stars at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California on Sunday, concluding the race weekend with the typically competitive 28-lap AMA Superbike race. Ducati 999-mounted Hodgson was fifth on Sunday and his teammate Bostrom was seventh at the 12-turn, 2.22 mile track.

While Neil couldn't repeat his podium finish from Saturday, he had a race-long battle with Jake Zemke for fourth spot, even though he was disappointed not to contend for the victory. In the end, Neil finished fifth to continue his string of top five finishes on his 999 Superbike.

"It was just tough. I rode as hard as I could the whole race," said Hodgson. "Throughout all of it, I was staying optimistic. I was thinking, 'Where am I going to pass (Zemke)?' My corner speed was strong and I was good on the brakes. I was staying close until he made a mistake. Those last two laps, I took my brain out, as racers sometimes say. I thought to myself, 'I've got to do something.' I did equal to my fastest lap on the second to the last lap, but I was on the limit. I was losing the front in every corner."

Eric Bostrom improved to seventh on Sunday but the 12-time AMA Superbike race winner still fell short of his goals to run at the front in Sonoma. "It's disappointing. In morning practice we were fast on the tire we raced on. I thought we would do 1:37s in the race but a telling sign on the warm-up lap was I didn't have as much grip as I thought. I went backwards when the green flag dropped and I don't really understand why things happened as they did. We have some work to do before Colorado, a track where we won last season and I've always done well at in the past."

"Neil's lap times improved today as we used a different tire," said team engineer Luca Ferracciloi. "But our rivals also improved. Neil and Eric put in the effort but we're disappointed with the results today."

Race 2 Results
1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
2. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
3. Ben Spies (Suzuki)
4. Jake Zemke (Honda)
5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati)
6. Miguel DuHamel (Honda)
7. Eric Bostrom (Ducati)
8. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki)
9. Marty Cragill (Suzuki)
10. Larry Pegram (Honda)

Overall Standings
1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) - 227
2. Ben Spies (Suzuki) - 211
3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) - 207
4. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) - 201
5. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) - 167
6. Miguel DuHamel (Honda) - 149
7. Marty Cragill (Suzuki) - 149
8. Lee Acree (Suzuki) - 125
9. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) - 117
10. Larry Pegram (Honda) - 116

Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin will next race their Italian L-twin Superbikes next weekend at Pikes Peak International Raceway.