James Toseland took his first Superbike victory at Oschersleben in Germany this weekend to end Neil Hodgson’s unbeaten run the 2003 championship.
James Toseland took his first Superbike victory at Oschersleben in Germany this weekend to end Neil Hodgson’s unbeaten run the 2003 championship.
Ducati’s Hodgson won the first race to take his ninth consecutive victory and equalled Colin Edwards’ record for most consecutive victories in the series.
Hodgson, on pole, fell back to fourth place, but managed to battle past the other contenders.
Toseland tangled with Suzuki’s Gregorio Lavilla on the first lap which saw Lavilla crash out and Toseland fighting his way back from last place. While Lavilla crashed out, Toseland began a remarkable comeback ride from the back of the field.
Pierfrancesco Chili finished second with Toseland in third spot.
“I didn’t get a good start, but that is probably a good thing,” Hodgson said. “My luck is really flying at the moment and, had I made a good start, I could have been taken down at the bottleneck.”
In the second race, Toseland rushed into the lead from the start. He was overtaken by Hodgson, but fought back to reclaim the lead and finished seven seconds ahead of Hodgson. Chris Walker was third.
“I can’t believe it!” said Toseland. “I want to dedicate the win to my family, without them I wouldn’t be here. I knew it was coming soon; the whole HM Plant Ducati team have worked so hard to make it happen. I’m really pleased to have got the win and beating Neil makes the victory even more valuable.”
Hodgson extended his championship lead to 245 points with Toseland moving into second place in the standings with 132 points. Ruben Zaus has 126 points.