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Neil Hodgson crowned World SBK Champion at Assen

Neil’s number one
By Dan Moakes September 8 2003
He only needed ten points, so second place in the first race at Assen was more than enough to make Neil Hodgson the 2003 World Superbike Champion. And to cap his day, he then went out and won the second one, ending a seven race streak without a win. But the Englishman surely didn’t have it easy.

Hodgson was on the front row of the grid for the seventh time this year, but on this occasion he was beaten to pole position by Frankie Chili and the PSG-1 Ducati. The Italian may have been helped out by improved Dunlop tyres, but he still rode well enough for his first pole in four seasons. Hodgson’s works 999 Ducati was second, from Gregorio Lavilla (Suzuki) and Rubén Xaus (also Ducati).

Row two was led by wildcard rider John Reynolds, on the Rizla Suzuki. His team-mate, Yukio Kagayama, was missing as a result of injuries sustained in the last British series meeting. ‘JR’ was joined by fellow Brit Leon Haslam, appearing on row three with the Renegade Ducati. Reynolds led Régis Laconi, James Toseland and Chris Walker, all on Ducatis.

A non-starter for race one was James Haydon, injured during practice, meaning one less man to oppose the usual Ducati hordes. Sure enough, the Italian machines held the 1-2-3 at the start, with Hodgson heading a fast starting Walker, and Chili dropping to third. Lavilla was fourth, from Laconi, Xaus, Reynolds, Toseland, Troy Corser, Haslam, Mauro Sanchini, Ivan Clementi, Lucio Pedercini, Steve Martin and Juan Borja.

Early moves saw Walker’s HM Plant bike demoted first by Chili, then by Lavilla, then by Xaus. The latter had already passed Laconi, who also fell victim to Reynolds on lap two. Quickest man in the early going was Lavilla, who overtook Hodgson and looked like pulling away in front. In fact, Gregorio’s GSX-R1000 drew the next three along with it, as they moved clear of Walker.

There was some lively action between Lavilla and the Ducatis of Hodgson, Chili and Xaus. The Spaniard passed Frankie on the inside at the turn one right-hander, before attacking team-mate Hodgson. Rubén’s bike suffered a huge twitch when he went for the inside of Hodgson, but they both got through the corner, with Xaus now running second. He then mounted an attack around the outside of his countryman, which Lavilla resisted. The number eleven machine provided some typically spectacular rear sliding.

The first to give in the lead battle was Lavilla. On the brakes for a right-hand bend, the front of the Suzuki folded under him, and his race was over. With Reynolds already having pulled out, the victim of failed suspension, this marked the end of the Suzuki challenge. Although Laconi had been forced into the pits with electrical problems, the Ducati monopoly was strengthened at this point. Walker and Toseland were catching the men in front.

The pace at the front seemed to have cooled a bit, and the best laps were now being set by Toseland. It became a five-way group for the lead as the orange bikes joined the fray. Toseland had a thrilling tussle with Walker, the two running side-by-side before James took over in fourth. Meanwhile, Hodgson had taken Xaus on the inside at the first corner to lead once again.

As Walker began to drop away from the leaders, the first four stayed closely matched for much of the remaining distance. But with six laps to go, Hodgson and Xaus seemed to make a break for it. However, at the last corner the top four became grouped again, perhaps as Neil had made a slight mistake. Rubén didn’t need much persuading, and within a few turns had gone by on the inside for a right-hander. Hodgson soon found a way back through.

However, Xaus was after his fourth win of the year, and once again found a way past. At the same time, Toseland took third from Chili, and went after former team-mate Hodgson. With three laps left, Hodgson passed Xaus on the outside. When the Spaniard responded he went wide, letting Neil through yet again. But on the last lap, Xaus repeated his last successful manoeuvre. Hodgson went too deep in the last corner, trying to get it back, and Xaus took the flag first. Chili was third in a very close finish with Toseland.

Walker was a fairly distant fifth, suffering from a painful neck that he’d hurt on the Saturday. Corser brought the Foggy FP1 into sixth, having regained the initiative from Clementi (eighth) and Haslam (seventh). Next came Martin, Sanchini, Alex Gramigni, Lucio Pedercini, Horst Saiger, Gianmaria Liverani and Jiri Mrkyvka.

The newly crowned champion, Hodgson admitted he had ridden a tense race, but that was all behind him for race two. At the start, Neil led away from Xaus, Laconi, Lavilla, Toseland, Reynolds, a slow moving Chili, Walker, Haslam, Corser and Clementi. Chili and Walker were the first movers, at the expense of Reynolds, and this trio soon had a small gap over the remaining field. John was not able to match the pace of the leading seven, and soon seemed to disappear into the pack.

Xaus was in attacking mood early on, but lost out to Laconi after having a go at Hodgson. Rubén recovered second very quickly, and Laconi was pushed back to fourth as Lavilla also passed the Frenchman. As with earlier, the Suzuki rider was the first man to set fastest lap and, as the lead group began to space out, it looked like the first three were really going for it.

Xaus and then Lavilla improved the best lap as they responded to Hodgson’s pace in the lead, and these three built a gap over the rest. Even when Hodgson had a bit of a ‘moment’ he retained the lead, but Xaus took his next chance, only to see Hodgson get back inside him. Eventually, the 999s proved too quick for Lavilla, and he lost ground. Hodgson was fastest in the later stages, but even in the last few laps Xaus was close enough to keep up his attack.

On the final lap, however, Hodgson did what he needed to just stretch out a small margin, and duly took win number twelve of 2003. He had set fastest lap on his final tour, and was entitled to the huge burnout he performed on his way back to the pits. Lavilla was a strong third, albeit on his own at the finish. It was his best result in eight races.

Fourth went to Laconi, after battling with Chili and Toseland, dropping behind them, and then getting them both back in one go! He had a tyre problem towards the finish, but even so kept Chili back in fifth. Toseland was not so lucky, as his rear Dunlop gave up on him totally, and he had no other choice but to pull into the pits and retire.

Walker had held seventh for quite a time, which became sixth, but lost out to both Haslam and Clementi at the close. For 20-year-old Leon, this was a highly creditable result, whilst Ivan recorded the best finish for a ZX-7RR Kawasaki so far this year.

Behind Walker in P8 came Corser and then Reynolds. The Suzuki man had dropped from eighth to twentieth at one stage, but then found some excellent pace and moved back up again. Tenth was probably a disappointment in the circumstances. The other points went to Martin, Sanchini, Marco Borciani, Pedercini and Gramigni, with Borja coming home sixteenth.

Honours were split between Hodgson and Xaus on the day, but the ultimate accolade had deservedly gone to the English rider in the process. With twelve wins so far this year, he has been the class of the field. In the history of World Superbikes, only three men have won more than that in a single season. With four races yet to run, he might even beat the thirteen of Fogarty (1995) and the fourteen of Bayliss (2002). It is the sort of form that should take him into MotoGP.

Standings after twenty races: Hodgson 431; Xaus 291; Toseland 240; Laconi 221; Lavilla 201; Walker 191; Chili 186; Martin 109; Borciani 98; Pedercini 97.


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