Ducati Corse

Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) and Colin Edwards (Honda) took a win apiece in a superb day of racing at a scorching Laguna Seca, California in front of a record 98,000 fans. In race 1 the Australian headed home his Ducati Infostrada team-mate Ruben Xaus, who earned a well-deserved second place, while race 2 saw an extraordinary three-way battle in the final few laps as Edwards, Bayliss and Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) fought it out for the win. Troy's win, his first-ever at Laguna Seca, takes his season total to 14 and he now leads Edwards by 53 points with four rounds still to go.

Bayliss, still sore after his Saturday crash, shadowed his Honda rival for 22 laps in race 1 before he and Ruben charged past the Texan to complete a Ducati Infostrada 1-2. "First of all a big thanks to the Clinica Mobile because they really looked after me this weekend. The best thing about this win is that we scored a Michelin 1-2-3 at Laguna. My back is a bit sore after the crash but it's OK, you just forget about that when you win. I just sat behind Colin and waited but then when I started to have a go at him it was difficult to pass, then when he did make a mistake Ruben was there as well. It makes me really happy to win at Laguna, which hasn't been very kind to me in the past." In race 2 Troy hounded Edwards for 22 laps before briefly getting his nose in front but was then involved in a fight for second place with Hodgson as Edwards took the win. "That was an awesome race, both Neil and Colin were riding really good. Anyway things panned out for themselves and I did the best I could. I only made a couple of points on Colin today but that's what it's all about and I'm happy with a win and a second place".

Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) rode the best race of his season to finish runner-up behind Troy. "We got a good result in race 1, I was second and it's good for my championship. On Friday I wasn't satisfied with the set-up and wasn't riding very well, so I took things calm. We did a lot of work on Saturday then in free practice I was in the top 5, Superpole was good and I found a really good tyre and set-up for the race. These points are good because they made up for the ones I lost in Misano." Ruben then blotted his copybook with an unfortunate crash during the installation lap for race 2. On the exit to Turn 2 he had a big slide and finished on the gravel but kept control of the bike. Everything seemed OK but probably some gravel went into the air-box and the throttle remained open at the Corkscrew where Ruben crashed out.

A disappointing weekend for Bostrom (Ducati L&M) who was unable to repeat his last year's race-winning form. The American could only finish eighth in race 2 and went slightly better in race 2 with a fifth position. "In race 1 I chose the same tyre as Neil, which was the one we'd been going well on all weekend but it didn't turn out so good in the race. I tried to ride 100% all the time but just couldn't do anything about the guys in front. In race 2 the tyre was way better but it didn't stop my chatter problem, which I only had today and not the rest of the weekend. It was like riding on an egg and it got worse as the race went on".

HM Plant Ducati GSE

HM Plant Ducati Superbike sensation Neil Hodgson gave everything that he had in the second of Sunday’s Superbike World Championship races at Laguna Seca. His dedication and hard work were rewarded with a third place finish. This great result represented a return to the podium that he had stepped up on to twice in 2001. Hodgson’s team-mate James Toseland fulfilled his aim of improving upon his race one performance, heroically battling his way up through the field to record a sixth-placed finish.

Hodgson showed precisely why he has been selected to become Ducati Corse’s official rider in 2003, when he fired his HM Plant Ducati 998 F01 around the mountainous 3.6km California circuit in an impressive display of aggressive riding. The 28-year-old former British Champion not only matched the pace of the full factory machines of Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss, but also set the fastest lap of the race (a blistering 1:25.597) in the process. After an uncharacteristic error dropped him back to sixth place in the early stages, Hodgson set about fighting his way back through the field and went on to make Bayliss work hard for his second-placed finish. The pair barrelled around the fearsome circuit fairing-to-fairing for several laps – hot on the heels of eventual race winner Colin Edwards.

“That was the hardest third place I’ve ever taken,” admitted Hodgson. “I just couldn’t give it any more than I did – I was fighting the bike all the way! It was great fun but when you ride that hard, you expect to win. There was just nothing in it and it was a case of waiting for Troy to make a mistake and then pouncing, but I just couldn’t make it stick. We were both sliding everywhere and all over the grass but I was very conscious of not doing anything too risky in case I took Troy out. My heart was in my mouth but I loved every minute of it!”

James Toseland used race two to illustrate the reasoning behind HM Plant Ducati’s decision to extend his contract for a further two years. The youngster won out in spectacular fashion after entering into a private battle for sixth place with an on-form Frankie Chili.

“That was much better than the first race,” said Toseland. “It’s always better when you have a bit of a fight on your hands and I’m glad that I managed to get back into the top six – it doesn’t feel right when I’m not up there! My HM Plant Ducati went really well, especially considering that it’s the only one I’ve had since Friday morning. I was a bit disappointed after race one, so it’s good to finish off with a strong result. It should give me the confidence that I need to really perform at Brands Hatch in a fortnight.”