Race one saw Neil Hodgson make a great start from the second row of the grid up into fourth - a position he held until the checkered flag in a race that was won by Ducati-mounted John Reynolds, with Chris Walker and Steve Hislop close behind. Hodgson's team mate, Niall Mackenzie, finished in sixth place in his first outing on the INS Ducati.

Race two saw Hodgson entertain the 24,500 crowd with an aggressive display of talent that saw him pass new lap record holder John Reynolds and then go on to pass early leader Chris Walker on the brakes at Graham Hill Bend. The Burnley rider then pulled away to finish in third place just behind Steve Hislop and winner James Haydon.

"I was really pleased with the way I rode in the second race," said 26-year-old Hodgson. "To be honest, I had struggled with my set-up all weekend, but we made some changes to the INS Ducati after race one. I rode really hard out there in the second leg and it was a big improvement, so I'm delighted to get on the podium in the first meeting of the year."

Peter Goddard was forced to retire from the first of the two 28-lap races because of an electrical problem, and he crashed his Team Kawasaki ZX-7RR on the opening lap of the second event.

"That's the worst day I've ever had. The warm-up went well, as had all our (pre-season) testing and qualifying. Then on the sighting lap of race one, after the second turn going down the hill toward turn three, when I shut the throttle - mind you just going quite slow - the engine stopped. I pulled the clutch and went to bump-start it, and it skidded and spat me over the handlebars. I ran back to the pits and started on my second bike. I got a good start only to have the race stopped after a pile-up on the start line. In the re-start I got away reasonably well and on the first lap hit (James) Haydon when he had a big high-side out of the last turn. I lost a couple of seconds, but continued until the bike stopped on lap four. I went back to my race bike for the second race and was running fourth on the first lap when on the last corner I had a bad high-side and crashed out. It was really strange - I was being careful because this is where Haydon high-sided in front of me in race one and again he was right in front of me. I knew the situation, but was astonished to have it happen to me. I'm okay, but very disappointed for all that has gone wrong. It's difficult to put a positive note on today."

Australia's Paul Young earned eight championship points after finishing 13th in the first race and 11th in the second event on a Level 3 Yamaha.

SuperSport

Steve Hislop qualified on pole position with a time of 46.325 seconds on the 1.22-mile Indy Circuit, with Chris Walker second and John Reynolds third. All of the fast times were posted in sunny, dry conditions in the first qualifying session. The afternoon session ended on a wet note, when heavy rain prevented any improvement on the morning times, although it gave Niall Mackenzie a chance to experience the INS Ducati in damp conditions.

"I'm delighted to be starting the race on the front row tomorrow," said Mackenzie, whose qualifying time of 46.749 was narrowly outside the outright lap record for the Indy Circuit. "At the moment, I'm just trying to put in as many laps as possible on the INS Ducati and today was the first time I have actually ridden it in the wet. I didn't quite know what to expect when the rain came down, but the good news is that I felt very comfortable on the bike."

Back for his second consecutive year with GSE Racing is Neil Hodgson who heads up the second row after qualifying fifth on the grid - just 0.025 of a second behind his team mate. Hodgson led the championship after winning the first race of the season here last year and finishing in third position in race two. He is hotly tipped as a title favourite after his strong performances throughout the season on the factory Ducati:

"It's always a bit tricky when the rain comes down," said Hodgson, "I was determined to improve on this morning's grid position because this circuit is one of my strong ones. However, these conditions have allowed us to experiment with wet settings and with every chance of rain tomorrow, we'll be well prepared for a wet race."

All the Aussies fared reasonably well in Superbike.   Dean Thomas is second on the SuperSport grid and Kirk McCarthy is seventh.

Superbike Qualifying

Competing in his second consecutive season on the INS Ducati, 26-year-old Hodgson made an instant impression in last year’s British Superbike Championship by winning the first race of the series at Brands Hatch and finishing third in the second leg. The team has just returned from pre-season testing in Cartagena in Spain, with Hodgson delighted at the results:

"Testing went extremely well for me at Cartagena, where I was second fastest overall and a great deal quicker than previous years. Niall and I worked well together and shared a lot of information and I feel happy with what I achieved on the factory INS Ducati. Now that I’ve got a year under my belt with the same team and know all the circuits, I’m fired up for this year’s championship and can’t wait for the racing to start.

New to the team but no stranger to winning is Niall Mackenzie, who will be partnering Hodgson in the team’s 2000 campaign. The three-times British Superbike Champion is eager to capture a fourth title and believes he has the machinery and back-up on which to achieve it:

"The recent test at Cartagena was really useful for me because I needed time with the INS Ducati on a dry circuit, although I didn’t find it difficult to adapt to the big twin after years spent on four-stroke machines. My best lap time on the factory Ducati was over a second faster than previous seasons and I feel really confident as a result.

"Having settled so easily into the team, I feel as if I’m in good shape for the first round of the championship and am ready to go racing. The INS Ducati has already proved to be a championship winner, so the rest is up to me, starting at Brands Hatch next Sunday."

Of course Aussies dominated the British Superbike Championship last year with Troy Bayliss taking out the major prize and Paul Young taking out the Privateers Cup.

We will be looking for more of the same this year with Paul Young again and new Kawasaki rider Peter Goddard.   Troy Bayliss has moved on to the American Superbike Championship.