Jump to content

Neil Hodgson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by James Kevin McMahon (talk | contribs) at 04:38, 15 November 2024 (image added from Commons). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Neil Hodgson
Hodgson in Driven to Extremes 2013
NationalityEnglish
Born (1973-11-20) 20 November 1973 (age 51)
Burnley, Lancashire, England
Bike number100
WebsiteNeil Hodgson 100
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Superbike World Championship
Active years1996–1999, 2001–2003
ManufacturersDucati, Kawasaki
Championships1 (2003)
2003 championship position1st (489 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
147 16 41 16 14 1566,5

Neil Stuart Hodgson (born 20 November 1973) is a British former motorcycle racer, who won the 2000 British Superbike Championship, and the 2003 Superbike World Championship titles. He then went on to have a moderately successful four years in the American Superbike Championship, with a best 5th place championship finish.

At the start of the 2010 season Hodgson returned to the British Superbike Championship with the Motorpoint Yamaha team managed by Rob McElnea.[1] However, on 22 April 2010 Hodgson announced his retirement from British superbikes and competitive motorcycle racing, due to a shoulder injury sustained in a motocross accident during the previous AMA season. Hodgson aggravated the injury in the first round of the British Superbike Championship at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit.

Hodgson now divides his time between family in the Isle of Man whilst working as a motorcycle racing commentator and TV studio pundit, road racing trackday instructor and as an ambassador for motorcycle companies including Ducati.[2]

Personal life

Hodgson was born in Burnley and lived there and in Nelson and Colne, Lancashire during his early life, attending Ss John Fisher and Thomas More RC High School.[3] He was 6 when he started riding his brother's bike around playing fields in Brierfield near his grandma's home. Hodgson has a daughter Hollie-Jean and son Taylor. He lives in Onchan on the Isle of Man. His hobbies include motocross, trials and mountain biking. He supports Burnley F.C.

Career

Early career

A schoolboy motocross rider from 1982 through 1989, Hodgson was voted Rider of the Year in 1986–87. Hodgson made the leap to road racing on Easter Sunday 1990 at a meeting at Langbaurgh (Teesside Autodrome), on a Yamaha TZR125. His first win was at the Three Sisters meeting in that same year. He came 8th in his first season in the British Clubman's Ministock. In 1992, he moved to the 125cc International Supercup, and became British National 125cc Champion aged 18. He was then selected to compete in the FIM World 125cc Championship as the youngest rider in the series and Britain's only representative in the class with Team Burnett (Roger Burnett), placing 24th in the Championship. In 1994, he was selected by HRC Honda as one of only five officially supported riders in 125cc World Championship with Team Burnett. He took part in two 500cc World Championship races for the Harris-Yamaha team.

500cc World Championship (1995)

In 1995, he moved full-time to 500cc World Championship with WCM, developing a reputation for being a smooth but impetuous rider who crashed a lot – he came 11th in the Championship.

Superbike World Championship (1996–1998)

For 1996, he moved to the Superbike World Championship (aka 'WSBK') with Ducati, and this began a frustrating three-year spell in the series, the latter two years with Fuchs Kawasaki. 9th was Hodgson's best championship finish in this era. His first podium came at Laguna Seca Raceway in 1996.

British Superbike Championship (1999–2000)

For 1999, he returned to the British Superbike Championship (BSB) with GSE Racing, and spent the season re-establishing himself on a superbike and regaining his confidence. His teammate at GSE Racing Troy Bayliss took the British Superbike title. 2000 saw one of the most titanic battles British Superbike had ever seen, as Hodgson battled Chris Walker who was riding for Suzuki, all season long. The championship came down to the last race of the year at Donington Park, and for most of the race it looked like Walker would take the title. However, with just 3 laps to go Walker's engine blew, allowing Hodgson to take the title. He also won two races of the British rounds of the Superbike World Championship that year as a 'wildcard' entry – one at Donington Park and one at Brands Hatch. The most memorable race of Hodgson's British Superbike title winning year was at Oulton Park, when he started race 1 from the back of the grid due after he stalled his bike, and ended up winning the race in breathtaking style, much to the amazement of the British crowd and his fellow competitors. The most controversial moment of the season came in race 2, when him and Walker came together on the final lap of the race battling for the win, resulting in Walker going down and Hodgson receiving a post-race penalty.

Return to Superbike (2001–2003)

GSE Racing stepped up to the Superbike World Championship series full-time for 2001, with Hodgson joined in the Ducati satellite team by up and coming English rider James Toseland. Hodgson was a race winner and 5th overall that year, while in 2002, Bayliss and Colin Edwards were dominant, although Neil took pole positions en route to 3rd overall. After both Bayliss and Edwards left for MotoGP, Hodgson became the number one rider for the works Ducati team in 2003, winning the title against teammate Ruben Xaus. Hodgson starred in a video called RIDE with EagleE and The Schlepp Riders also starring: Phil Greening, DJ Sassy, Princess the hit song maker of Say I'm Your No.1 fame in the 1980s. Also featuring Jason Fin.

MotoGP World Championship (2004)

For 2004, both Hodgson and Xaus went to Ducati's second-string MotoGP team, Team d'Antin Ducati. But the power delivery of the Desmosedici was extreme compared to a WSB Superbike, and the team had limited sponsorships and funds to run a test programme. Resultantly, Hodgson never felt he had the bike set up like he ever wanted it to be, while Xaus's natural extreme style appeared to get more out of the machine. Xaus ended up as rookie of the year, while a disillusioned Hodgson came 17th in the championship.

AMA Superbike Championship (2005–2009)

Hodgson at the time vowed never to return to MotoGP, stating that a combination of his age and nationality was now against him, and he would never be offered the best machinery capable of competing let alone winning. Having shown loyalty to Ducati throughout his motorcycle racing experience, the question now was where to place him. Ducati had a 'works' team focusing on making Régis Laconi the next WSB champion, and Hodgson didn't want to return to the Superbike World Championship in a satellite team, or to British Superbikes. Resultantly, with the stated aim of becoming the first rider to win all three Superbike titles of 'British', 'World' and 'American', he moved into the less-prestigious American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) championship in the United States for 2005 – he came sixth to Mat Mladin. Hodgson finished the 2006 AMA Superbike Championship in 5th place.

Neil Hodgson at Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California, US in 2008

Ducati pulled out of the AMA Superbike Championship for at least the 2007 season,[4] and Hodgson failed to obtain another ride as the 2007 Superbike World Championship opened. Hodgson was linked to joining Yamaha France from round 3 onwards,[5] and to a temporary ride for Suzuki in WSBK. On 11 April he was confirmed as a test and development rider for Ducati, replacing the injured Shinichi Ito.[6] Rizla Suzuki gave Neil a test on the team's Suzuki GSX-R1000 for tests of the bike taking place at Cadwell Park,[7] but despite speculation he was not intended to replace Chris Walker.

He returned to the AMA Superbike Championship for one round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on a Corona Honda, partnering James Ellison, finishing fifth.[8] At the Sachsenring MotoGP round he was revealed to have rejected a chance to stand in for Toni Elías on a Gresini Honda at this race, as he thought that it would impact his chances of landing a full-time Superbike ride, probably with Ten Kate Honda after an earlier speculated deal to ride for Fogarty Racing on an MV Agusta dissipated. On 5 September 2007, Honda America announced that Hodgson would race for them in the 2008 AMA Superbike season, riding the new Fireblade.[9]
In 2008, Hodgson came 6th in the AMA Superbike Championship, picking up 2 3rd-place finishes at Miller Motorsports Park. These were his best results of the season, towards the end of the season Hodgson became more inconsistent collecting low scores in 1 race of every round from 8–10. Hodgson signed a contract to keep him with the Corona Honda team for the 2009 season.[10]
In 2009, Hodgson started the season off strongly with a second-place finish at the Daytona circuit. Hodgson then had an accident in training on a motocross bike, causing him to suffer a collapsed lung and a dislocated shoulder causing him to miss the next 3 rounds.[11] Hodgson would eventually finish 11th on 167 points.[12]

Return to British Superbikes (2010)

Hodgson confirmed that he would be returning to British Superbikes for the 2010 season, with Motorpoint Yamaha alongside youngster Dan Linfoot.[13] On 22 April 2010 Hodgson announced that he was retiring from British superbikes and competitive motorcycle racing, due to the shoulder injury he picked up in a motocross accident during the previous AMA season. Hodgson had aggravated the injury in the first round of the British Superbike Championship at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit on 5 April.[14] Hodgson was replaced in the Motorpoint Yamaha team by Ian Lowry.[15]

Support for charity

Hodgson is a patron of the National Association for Bikers with a Disability.[16]

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pos Pts
1992 125cc Honda JPN AUS MAL SPA ITA EUR GER NED HUN FRA GBR
26 		BRA RSA NC 0
1993 125cc Honda AUS
Ret 		MAL
Ret 		JPN
16 		SPA
12 		AUT
Ret 		GER
24 		NED
15 		EUR
19 		RSM
20 		GBR
10 		CZE
11 		ITA
15 		USA
15 		FIM
Ret 		24th 18
1994 125cc Honda AUS
Ret 		MAL
17 		JPN
Ret 		SPA
Ret 		AUT
27 		GER
16 		NED
18 		ITA
Ret 		FRA
20 		GBR
21 		CZE
Ret 		USA
22 		NC 0
500cc Harris-Yamaha ARG
15 		EUR
16 		32nd 1
1995 500cc ROC-Yamaha AUS
20 		MAL
Ret 		JPN
14 		SPA
12 		GER
14 		ITA
14 		NED
13 		FRA
8 		GBR
7 		11th 54
Yamaha CZE
10 		BRA
11 		ARG
10 		EUR
9
2004 MotoGP Ducati RSA
Ret 		SPA
Ret 		FRA
Ret 		ITA
11 		CAT
12 		NED
10 		BRA
16 		GER
13 		GBR
10 		CZE
11 		POR
Ret 		JPN
8 		QAT
Ret 		MAL
Ret 		AUS
18 		VAL
15 		17th 38

Superbike World Championship

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Pts
R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2
1996 Ducati SMR
12 		SMR
Ret 		GBR
DNS 		GBR
DNS 		GER
DNS 		GER
DNS 		ITA
6 		ITA
9 		CZE
11 		CZE
4 		USA
3 		USA
9 		EUR
8 		EUR
Ret 		INA
Ret 		INA
8 		JPN
13 		JPN
14 		NED
7 		NED
6 		SPA
8 		SPA
8 		AUS
Ret 		AUS
12 		10th 122
1997 Ducati AUS
Ret 		AUS
Ret 		SMR
7 		SMR
4 		GBR
4 		GBR
9 		GER
6 		GER
8 		ITA ITA USA
Ret 		USA
9 		EUR
4 		EUR
6 		AUT
8 		AUT
Ret 		NED
5 		NED
5 		SPA
Ret 		SPA
8 		JPN
18 		JPN
Ret 		INA
Ret 		INA
7 		9th 137
1998 Kawasaki AUS
8 		AUS
Ret 		GBR
12 		GBR
Ret 		ITA
4 		ITA
7 		SPA
7 		SPA
14 		GER
Ret 		GER
11 		SMR
7 		SMR
8 		RSA
Ret 		RSA
Ret 		USA
9 		USA
6 		EUR
Ret 		EUR
9 		AUT
8 		AUT
10 		NED
10 		NED
9 		JPN
6 		JPN
16 		11th 124,5
2000 Ducati RSA RSA AUS AUS JPN JPN GBR
3 		GBR
1 		ITA ITA GER GER SMR SMR SPA SPA USA USA EUR
2 		EUR
1 		NED NED GER GER GBR
4 		GBR
Ret 		12th 99
2001 Ducati SPA
Ret 		SPA
5 		RSA
Ret 		RSA
4 		AUS
11 		AUS
C 		JPN
7 		JPN
5 		ITA
Ret 		ITA
7 		GBR
1 		GBR
2 		GER
8 		GER
2 		SMR
6 		SMR
16 		USA
2 		USA
3 		EUR
2 		EUR
2 		GER
7 		GER
10 		NED
5 		NED
5 		ITA
10 		ITA
7 		5th 269
2002 Ducati SPA
6 		SPA
5 		AUS
5 		AUS
4 		RSA
5 		RSA
4 		JPN
4 		JPN
3 		ITA
2 		ITA
4 		GBR
3 		GBR
6 		GER
Ret 		GER
8 		SMR
3 		SMR
4 		USA
5 		USA
3 		GBR
2 		GBR
3 		GER
3 		GER
3 		NED
Ret 		NED
4 		ITA
4 		ITA
5 		3rd 326
2003 Ducati SPA
1 		SPA
1 		AUS
1 		AUS
1 		JPN
1 		JPN
1 		ITA
1 		ITA
1 		GER
1 		GER
2 		GBR
1 		GBR
1 		SMR
Ret 		SMR
2 		USA
2 		USA
2 		GBR
2 		GBR
5 		NED
2 		NED
1 		ITA
2 		ITA
4 		FRA
1 		FRA
Ret 		1st 489

References

  1. ^ "Neil Hodgson and Dan Linfoot Team Mates for 2010". londonbikers.com. 24 April 2015. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  2. ^ [1] Neil Hodgson 100. Official website. Retrieved 30 November 2013
  3. ^ Lancashire Telegraph Accessed 2010
  4. ^ Ducati.com – NEWS Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Latest Motorsport News". Crash. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
  6. ^ "Hodgson secures Ducati test ride". 11 April 2007 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  7. ^ "Soup :: Hodgson To Test Suzuki Superbike :: 06-18-2007". Archived from the original on 20 June 2007.
  8. ^ "Hodgson". www.corona-racing.com.
  9. ^ "Neil Hodgson signs for Honda in AMA". www.motorcyclenews.com.
  10. ^ "Neil Hodgson to race Corona Honda". www.motorcyclenews.com.
  11. ^ "Neil Hodgson Hospitalized After Motorcross Training Accident | 2WheelTuesday". 2wheeltuesday.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2009.
  12. ^ "AMA Pro Racing - Road Racing Standings". www.amaproracing.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011.
  13. ^ "Neil Hodgson back in British Superbike". Crash. 11 November 2009.
  14. ^ "Hodgson announces retirement". Archived from the original on 26 April 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  15. ^ "Error". Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  16. ^ NABD Patrons Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 27 May 2009
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Neil Hodgson.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Neil_Hodgson&oldid=1257491333"