Neil Hodgson racked up nine straight World Superbike wins before Oschersleben – and it will be up to the rider who broke his run, James Toseland, to stop the series leader from claiming his third and fourth consecutive race victories since Germany.
Neil Hodgson racked up nine straight World Superbike wins before Oschersleben – and it will be up to the rider who broke his run, James Toseland, to stop the series leader from claiming his third and fourth consecutive race victories since Germany this weekend.
HM Plant Ducati rider Toseland narrowly lost out on a second last weekend at Silverstone after an epic duel with Hodgson and the 22-year-old hopes he will again be able to worry former team-mate at Misano, especially after recent testing.
“I’m looking forward to Misano and the fact that we tested there a little while ago should make things a bit easier,” said Toseland. “I’ve been doing tyre testing and Dunlop have been working hard to help us out.
“Misano’s a top circuit, I’ve been round it a few times and I’ve got a decent set-up, so all the ingredients are there for a good weekend,” he added.
Following his two wins at Silverstone, Hodgson goes into this weekend’s races in cautious mood.
“I’m very much the sort of person who’s expecting things to have to happen the hard way,” he said. “There’s an awful lot more hard work and racing to be done before we get to the end of the season.
“Every round is a hard fight and any of the top five or six riders are capable of winning a race,” said Hodgson, who currently leads the championship by 130 points.
Meanwhile, young Italian Lorenzo Mauri will stand in for the injured James Haydon at Misano.
Mauri, 26, was recommended by Ducati chief Davide Tardozzi to Foggy Petronas Racing owner Carl Fogarty, who is confident his new rider can cause a stir.
“He has got nothing to lose and we have got nothing to lose so, you never know – something just might happen,” Fogarty said.