Ducati Corse race boss Claudio Domenicali says that Ben Bostrom's 2002 season—a disappointment after Bostrom's blazing 2001 season—was at least due in part to Bostrom's tires.

Commenting on Bostrom's 2002 season, Domenicali, who oversees all of Ducati's racing efforts, said, "I think a big part of the problem with Ben is the big difference in performance between the tire manufacturers this year. We had two riders on one tire manufacturer's tire and one rider-which was Ben-on another tire."

"Ben, Neil Hodgson and Nori Haga all struggled this year. I think there was definitely a clear performance disadvantage for them."

Sources close to Bostrom say that the 2002 Ducati Superbike never found a Dunlop tire it liked, but that Dunlop is hopeful they have the situation fixed for 2003.

(Yet, with Kawasaki now gone from WSC, Aprilia mulling over Pirelli tires, one can only wonder how many Dunlop WSC teams there will be in 2003.)

Domenicali talked philosophically about Bostrom, who will race in America for Honda in 2003. "I think Ben, when he can race for a win, it makes a big difference with his heart. When he has to race for fourth place, I think he is half a second slower than he could be, because he is not, maybe, pushing, and not feeling with his heart as he would if he were going for a win."

Domenicali acknowledged that HM Plant rider Neil Hodgson was more competitive than Bostrom for much of the season, even though Hodgson rides the older Ducati Superbike.

But updated bikes are not always the key to race wins, says Domenicali. "The thing is that the difference performance in the bike from one year to the next is very little. But, the difference in performance you get in a motivated rider is very great."