Assen Superbike Results
Published: September 8th, 2003
Share
Britain's Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila) 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 to see Hodgson's title win.
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 for streetbike-derived machines and this year, with the new-for-2003 Ducati 999, it has won both the Riders' and Manufacturers' titles.
Ducati Motor Holding President Federico Minoli, commenting on the victory, said: "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".
Ducati Corse managing director Claudio Domenicali added: "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. 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 victory has also come about thanks to the support of all our partners and sponsors and special thanks must go to Shell, who developed specific Advance lubricants for our engines, and Michelin, with whom we have now won seven riders' titles."
"It hasn't sunk in yet" declared Neil immediately after he stepped off the podium. "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".
Ruben Xaus, who rode a storming race to take his fourth win of the year in race 1, immediately congratulated his Ducati Fila team-mate on his championship victory. "Congratulations to Neil and Ducati Fila, who have done a fantastic job all through the year. 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."
World Superbike Race One Results:
1. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 16 laps, 33:07.249
2. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03
3. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS
4. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02
5. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02
6. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1
7. Leon Haslam, Ducati 998RS
8. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
9. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS
10. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
11. Alex Gramigni, Yamaha YZF-R1
12. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS
13. Horst Saiger, Yamaha YZF-R1
14. Gianmaria Liverani, Yamaha YZF-R1
15. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 998RS
16. Robert Menzen, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
17. Paul Mooijman, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
18. Luca Pedersoli, Ducati 998RS, -7 laps, DNF
19. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, -8 laps
20. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS, -8 laps
21. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -12 laps, DNF
22. John Reynolds, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -13 laps, DNF
Fastest Lap: Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:03.081
World Superbike Race Two Results:
1. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03, 16 laps, 32:57.759
2. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 0.466 second
3. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 7.799 seconds
4. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS
5. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS
6. Leon Haslam, Ducati 998RS
7. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
8. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02
9. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1
10. John Reynolds, Suzuki GSX-R1000
11. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS
12. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
13. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS
14. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS
15. Alex Gramigni, Yamaha YZF-R1
16. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS
17. Stefan Nebel, Suzuki GSX-R1000
18. Robert Menzen, Suzuki GSX-R1000
19. Gianmaria Liverani, Yamaha YZF-R1
20. Karl Truchsess, Yamaha YZF-R1
22. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02, -2 laps, DNF
23. Luca Pedersoli, Ducati 998RS, -2 laps, DNF
Fastest Lap: Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 2:02.649
Get Motorcycle.com in your InboxHodgson, 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 to see Hodgson's title win.
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 for streetbike-derived machines and this year, with the new-for-2003 Ducati 999, it has won both the Riders' and Manufacturers' titles.
Ducati Motor Holding President Federico Minoli, commenting on the victory, said: "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".
Ducati Corse managing director Claudio Domenicali added: "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. 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 victory has also come about thanks to the support of all our partners and sponsors and special thanks must go to Shell, who developed specific Advance lubricants for our engines, and Michelin, with whom we have now won seven riders' titles."
"It hasn't sunk in yet" declared Neil immediately after he stepped off the podium. "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".
Ruben Xaus, who rode a storming race to take his fourth win of the year in race 1, immediately congratulated his Ducati Fila team-mate on his championship victory. "Congratulations to Neil and Ducati Fila, who have done a fantastic job all through the year. 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."
World Superbike Race One Results:
1. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 16 laps, 33:07.249
2. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03
3. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS
4. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02
5. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02
6. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1
7. Leon Haslam, Ducati 998RS
8. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
9. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS
10. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
11. Alex Gramigni, Yamaha YZF-R1
12. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS
13. Horst Saiger, Yamaha YZF-R1
14. Gianmaria Liverani, Yamaha YZF-R1
15. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 998RS
16. Robert Menzen, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
17. Paul Mooijman, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
18. Luca Pedersoli, Ducati 998RS, -7 laps, DNF
19. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, -8 laps
20. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS, -8 laps
21. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -12 laps, DNF
22. John Reynolds, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -13 laps, DNF
Fastest Lap: Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:03.081
World Superbike Race Two Results:
1. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03, 16 laps, 32:57.759
2. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 0.466 second
3. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 7.799 seconds
4. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS
5. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS
6. Leon Haslam, Ducati 998RS
7. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
8. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02
9. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1
10. John Reynolds, Suzuki GSX-R1000
11. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS
12. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
13. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS
14. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS
15. Alex Gramigni, Yamaha YZF-R1
16. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS
17. Stefan Nebel, Suzuki GSX-R1000
18. Robert Menzen, Suzuki GSX-R1000
19. Gianmaria Liverani, Yamaha YZF-R1
20. Karl Truchsess, Yamaha YZF-R1
22. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02, -2 laps, DNF
23. Luca Pedersoli, Ducati 998RS, -2 laps, DNF
Fastest Lap: Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 2:02.649
More by George Obradovich
Comments
Join the conversation