Race 1

Hodgson shows the way around Monza

HM Plant Ducat/GSE Racing rider Neil Hodgson once more confirmed his status as a championship contender by taking an outstanding second-placed finish after a thrilling first race at the Monza Autodrome. His team-mate James Toseland scored his best result ever onboard a Superbike – an emphatic fifth place – to make it a superb start to the day’s racing for the team.

After starting from pole position, Hodgson remained at the head of the field for the majority of the 18-lap race. The 28-year-old former-British Superbike Champion put in an incredibly strong showing, and dominated the frantic three-way battle for the lead that was to rage throughout the 104km contest. Troy Bayliss eventually emerged victorious from the struggle, despite both he and third-placed Colin Edwards cutting out the Prima chicane. The pair of world champions out-braked themselves at the end of the 190mph start/finish straight and were forced to straight-line the section and make use of the run-off road.

“I really thought I’d won the race,” said Hodgson. “A memo had gone around before the race saying that a ten-second stop-and-go penalty would be imposed if you cut out the chicane. On the last lap, I didn’t really try to get by Troy because, as far as I was concerned, I only had to worry about Chili getting past me. It turns out that the penalty wasn’t imposed. I’m disappointed, but I can’t take anything away from everybody else because they rode really well to catch me back up. I’m on pole for race two, I’m not at any real power disadvantage anymore and I have these fantastic Dunlop race tyres. I’ll be able to give it 100% again and see if I can get that win.”

James Toseland rode a commanding race to collect 11 valuable championship points, finishing well ahead of many factory riders, including Ducati’s Ruben Xaus.

“That was amazing,” said Toseland. “I got a good start which put me up into fifth. I was expecting to have a bit of a scrap with Haga for that position until his bike packed up. I was determined to keep fifth place, so from there on in I just kept my head down and rode as hard as I could. It’s been a great day for the HM Plant Ducati team so far, and I want more of the same in race two.”

Race 2

Race two at Monza saw HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing rider Neil Hodgson miss out on a podium position by the narrowest of margins. After an epic race-long display of tactics, skill and courage, the #100 HM Plant Ducati crossed the line less than 0.07s from second-placed Colin Edwards and just 0.024s behind third-placed Noriyuki Haga. Hodgson’s team-mate James Toseland was unable to complete the 18-lap race after he fell victim to spilled fluid on the track and slid off his bike while on target for a fifth-placed finish.

Hodgson had fronted the contest in places, but it was Troy Bayliss who eventually eked out a lead that he was to maintain to the chequered flag. Behind him the race became a furious battle for the subsequent three positions and Hodgson rode remarkably throughout. After countless laps of astonishing overtaking and spectacular slipstreaming action, the final placings were decided on the very last corner.

“Something split in my exhaust system during the race and I lost a load of power,” explained Hodgson. “Nobody’s to blame for that happening – it’s just one of those things – but I suddenly found myself right down on acceleration. I was drafting past the other two pretty easily but I just couldn’t get the drive back out of the chicanes and that was what I needed right at the end. Although I’ve reinforced my third place in the championship standings, I’m more than a little disappointed in the way things turned out, mainly because I’m riding really well and potentially could have won both races.”

James Toseland: “I’m really frustrated not to have been able to finish the second race because I was right up there. The pace may have been slower than the first race, but I was well in touch with the leaders until I came off. Something was leaking from Chili’s bike and I don’t think he saw the black flags. I was trying to get past him and it was just really unfortunate that I hit some of the fluid at that exact point on the track. That aside, I’ve had a really encouraging weekend and picked up my best ever result in the process.”