Hodgson takes Pole and stakes his claim for Silverstone
A mature exhibition for Neil Hodgson on Ducati's home turf suggests Silverstone is one round not to be missed. Pole position and the holeshot in both races establishes the HM Plant Ducati rider as the man to look out for in the first UK round of WSB at Silverstione on May 26th.
Race One was eventually lost to Bayliss by just over half a second with Edwards 'flying' behind the lead two on his SP-2 Honda. A spectacle as ever at Monza, Ducati ended up with 5 of the top 6 places in Race One. A crash for Britain's Chris Walker on Lap 15 ended a still improving set of performances for the Kawasaki rider.
James Toseland scored his best ever WSB result with a superb fifth place but DNF'd in Race two after crashing on some oil deposited by Chili. Race one had only the Texan Tornado preventing all 6 top places going to Ducati.
Race Two saw Hodgsons power output cut dramatically after an exhaust crack on lap 8, resulting in a creditable fourth place. Bayliss took a second venue win to underline his superiority after the Sugo 'hiccup' again followed by the Texan's Honda who was glad to see Haga stayed behind him in third after dropping out of Race One with a failed water pump.
Ducati still maintain 4 of the top 6 positions on the championship and Bayliss' overall points lead looks like the season may be mapped out already.
