Hodgson: This is it - I'm world champion!
Britain's Neil Hodgson wrapped up the 2003 World Superbike Championship with second place in race 1 behind Ruben Xaus and a thrilling victory in race 2 at the Dutch circuit today.
Hodgson - who needed just ten points to clinch the title - and his Spanish team-mate put on a fantastic show for the 76,000 strong crowd, which included thousands of British supporters who had crossed the Channel especially to see Hodgson's title win.
Britain's Neil Hodgson wrapped up the 2003 World Superbike Championship with second place in race 1 behind Ruben Xaus and a thrilling victory in race 2 at the Dutch circuit today.
Hodgson - who needed just ten points to clinch the title - and his Spanish team-mate put on a fantastic show for the 76,000 strong crowd, which included thousands of British supporters who had crossed the Channel especially to see Hodgson's title win.
"It hasn't sunk in yet," declared Neil immediately stepping off the podium, where - as is now traditional - he lifted the huge championship winning trophy above his head (pictured). "All I can think about is the race, which I was trying to win. I've never suffered from concentration so bad, but at a certain point I was thinking 'this is it, this is it - I'm world champion!' I've been focussed all weekend but because of the battle with Ruben, I just tensed up and was unable to relax and go for the race win.
"It means so much to me to win this championship," he added. "I've been racing since 1990, I've had an up-and-down career but now I've proved a few people wrong by winning the title and I truly feel I can move on from here. I'd just like to dedicate the title to Kathryn and our baby girl, as well as my chief engineer and right-hand man Ernesto Marinelli, who couldn't make it here due to a recent accident."
Hodgson is set to move to MotoGP with Ducati next season for a yet to be announced team - almost certainly the Spanish based D'Antin outfit.
Xaus, who rode a storming race to take his fourth win of the year in race 1, was quick to congratulate his team-mate on championship victory.
"Congratulations to Neil and Ducati Fila, who have done a fantastic job all through the year," said team-mate Xaus sportingly. "It was a pretty difficult race because there was so much tension between Neil and myself. I didn't want to make any mistakes but I did, throughout the race. Sometimes I was faster than him, and he was faster than me, we had to take the battle right down to the last lap, when I think Neil relaxed a bit because he knew he was going to be world champion."
Hodgson becomes the second British rider to win the Superbike crown after Ducati legend Carl Fogarty, and the tenth Ducati rider to win the coveted world title.
The Italian manufacturer has dominated the 2003 WSBK championship after the withdraw of much of its previous competition from the likes of Honda and Aprilia. Nevertheless, this year - with the new 999, it has won both the Riders' and Manufacturers' titles against factory supported teams such as HM Plant Ducati and Alstare Suzuki.
"This is a historic moment for Ducati. Winning the riders' and manufacturers' titles in the 999's first year, in a year in which Ducati has had many commitments, is a prestigious achievement," stated Ducati Corse managing director Claudio Domenicali. "Substituting the 998 was not an easy task but we have managed to prove that the 999 is already an exceptional machine and that Neil has become a successful and mature rider in his first year with us."
"This is another important chapter in the history of Ducati and the championship-winning 999 will take its pride of place in the Ducati museum! We are very proud of the 999's performance in its first year of racing," added Ducati Motor Holding President Federico Minoli.