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Qregorto LIIvllla (101 rode tho AJatare Suzuld QSX·R1ooo to • ."enth-.cI finl....., while Steve Martin ("I put h18 Plrelll-8hod Ducat! Into tho top .Ix In both nIC08. Troy Corsor (41 cra8hoclln race one but _ . able to rebound with a seventh In race two. .blth-...._ another reason: the injured ribs he picked up last week in testing. "I've had a good weekend, and I'm feeling relaxed," Hodgson said. "I fit into the Ducati team and feel that I'm for four laps until the 999s came booming past. "All weekend I've not been able to get the bike set up as well as in the tests," Toseland said. "The bike is riding really well. It's a very physical track here because there are a lot of turns that are first gear, and there is a lot of acceleration forces to deal with on a Superbike. I'd like to thank the C1inica Mobile. I hurt my ribs in test- still working good, and the tires are perfect, but after about five laps I couldn't even follow Neil's rhythm. I hope to do a little bit of work on the bike for the second race. Otherwise Neil will pull away again." ing, and they've done a really good job in getting me fit for both races." Xaus and his Ducati Fila mount And the championship in general needs some competition, even after this first taste of 2003 tarmac. scored two second places, although he was clear of the chasing riders behind him in both 23-lap contests. Outqualified and outraced by his teammate, Xaus nonetheless put Hodgson under as much pressure as The racing was not particularly dazzling by any standard of competition, and that is being kind. But possible for the duration of the 23-lap races - but to no result. What he did not do at all was crash and thus leaves the track only 10 there were some good scraps in the lower orders. Returnee Superbike race-winning rider Regis Laconi scored a fifth place in race one on his NCR Ducati but was forced to retire from race two for what appeared to be tire troubles. points behind Hodgson. That's a case of commendable self-control from a rider with a reputation for falling under pressure. "In the first leg I had some trouble in the front; the bike seemed to have a deflated tire," Laconi said. "At the start Hodgson wasn't The new stratification of World Superbike moved down a level to the semiprivateers Chris Walker and James Toseland, on their ex-Bayliss For most observers, Neil Hodgson is something of a cast-iron favorite to win the 2003 title. If he carries on the way he started on the opening day of the new season, then the expectation will become a reality. Although he could not get down to his best official testing time of 1:34 flat, his first day of real qualifying delivered him a 1:34.932, enough to outpace all his main competitors. The incessant blustery winds at the flat Valencia circuit proved decisive during the final official qualifying session, preventing a few competitors from improving their combined qualifying times at the second attempt. Hodgson had already improved his by a fraction to be fastest before and after Superpole. Among many changes in World Superbike, Superpole remained as it was, a single flying lap competition for the first 16 qualifiers, determining the final grid positions for Sunday's brace of Superbike races, depending on how fast they do a single circuit. The cool heads generally win at this, with Hodgson again triumphant, for the 11 th time. Hodgson improved even on his fll'St qualifying best to score a time of 1:34.863, marginally outside the previous Superpole best set by Troy Bayliss - a 1:34.814. The high wind conditions played their part in the empirical times set. the post Superpole grid order something of a surprise in some respects, in terms of the order of the names. "I'm enjoying riding here at Valencia; in previous years I've always felt like I'm fighting the bike around here, but this year I've got it sussed, and it doesn't feel like that," Hodgson said. "My Superpole lap wasn't too smooth, though, but in general I feel very relaxed out on track, and the new bike feels very well balanced, which is making my job easier." Hodgson's quick lap denied his fellow countryman and former HM plant Ducati pitsharer James Toseland from scoring his first Superpole win on the 2002-spec 998 Ducati factory machine, although Toseland stated that this was nonetheless his first front row start. Having suffered some problems in qualifying up to that point, Toseland was nonetheless disappointed to be displaced by a bike that was faster than his own. Toseland in tum ruined a crowd-pleasing Fila Ducati factory squad 1-2, with Hodgson's teammate Ruben Xaus "only" third fastest in Superpole. "The wind was strong going into tum one, and it was trying to push you off the track during my Superpole lap, but I managed to get used to it and change my riding style to adapt, but it's obviously the same for everyone," Toseland said. "My bike is very close to Neil's in the engine department, and if we can get a good race setting for tomorrow, I don't think we'll be far away." Troy Corser's final qualifying lap was good enough to put him third after the two regular timed sessions, an outstanding performance from a team which is only a year or so old, on a bike that many said would never make the grid - ever, and if it did would be ridiculously slow. Finished and reliable the FPl certainly is not right now, but as a racing platform, it is certainly only a crank or two (no pun intended) below the best in the current series. Not even the team thought they would get a front row start, 1996 World Champion at the controls or not. As many people said, they should tum around and go home before the race, because anything more than that in race trim will be a miracle, not just merely a virtual impossibility. Fast Frenchman Regis Laconi and his NCR Nortel Networks Ducati 998RS earned a start on the second row after a strong ride on his big twin, missing out on the front row by a mere hair. Top Pirelli-equipped runner Steve Martin (DFX Ducati) was sixth after an intense single lap, also affected by the wind. Everyone's favorite "grandad" Pier-Francesco Chili boomed to seventh on his latest twin; the second row was completed by the HM Plant Ducati of Chris Walker. Always a force in qualifying this particular weekend, second fastest after day one, Walker was a bundle of nerves and anticipation but held it together for row two. Lucio Pedercini (Ducati) scored the 9th fastest lap, Juan Borja (DFX Ducati) the 10th. The top four-cylinder 1000cc-powered qualifier was Gregorio Lavilla, the Alstare Suzuki rider running out 12th, enough for a third row start. James Haydon took the second of the FPl Petronas triples to 13th quickest, running ragged on a machine that was not set up exactly for the prevailing conditions, having been rebuilt after a late session crash in about 10 minutes. Dogged by even more machine problems than Corser, Haydon was the only person in the squad not jumping for joy after Saturday's Corser result. Two Superpole qualifiers did not set times: David Garcia (Ducati NCR Nortel) crashed in free qualifying and did not have another machine ready to compete for his final grid place, and Giovanni Bussei (UnionBike GiMotorsport Yamaha Rl) crashed heavily in Superpole on a suspected cold tire. too fast, but I had to stay behind [Troy] Corser, who was slowing us up, so the leading group took some advantage. When I overtook Corser, then [Steve] Martin arrived at my shoulder: he was very fast, and only in final laps I've been able to make some distance on him. In race two I started well, and I was able to run with the two GSE Ducatis, spec 998 F02 Testastrettas. The English duo swapped third and fourth places, with Walker taking the podium finish in race one and Toseland scoring his second-ever podium in race two. "I had a good battle with James all race - he's been flying all weekend," Walker said. "I managed to get a good start and hang with the boys for as long as I could, but in the end Ruben and Neil just eased away. I've still got a lot of confidence-building to do with the Ducati. so hopefully soon I'll be seeing a lot more of them." The rivalry within that team is intense and nowhere near as closecut a competition on paper as in the factory squad's, holding up the delicious prospect of some good rolling HM roadshows for the rest of the year. Toseland was particularly aggressive in race one, leading when suddenly the engine started to run poorly, and I entered the pit-garage. We don't know exactly what happened - we must split the engine in the workshop. It was really a pity because it will not be easy to recover the points from a good result thrown away like this!" The man who followed Laconi home in the first running, DFX Ducati's Steve Martin, took fifth in the seccue I • n e _ S • MARCH 12, 2003 17