Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128238
World Superbike C h a m p io n s h ip Final Round: Magny-Cours nand Xaus spli he series fina Xaus fair and square in race one wa s good work from Hodgson, even if he and Xaus were onc e again finally raci ng each ot he r and not really anyone else. Hod gson t he n un di d all that good work after falling in race tw o, chasing Xaus , who had come th rough from eighth, in one of his now-customa ry cha rges from adve rsity into adulation. So was th e answer y e s, Hodgson is b ack t o no rmal , or no , he has b een fre a k ed o u t by th e recent form of Xaus? For Xaus the dilemma at MagnyCours was a simple one. He has bee n told , by the announcement of Reg is Laconi and James T o seland as Fil a Ducati pi lots in 2004, that he is out of th e p i cture , n o lon g er requ ired b y Du c at i in a se r i e s h-e s ta rte d s o un c on vin c in g l y i n b ut ende d w ith seven race wins in th e last 12 races . So uncertainty reigns, even if there have been some positives for World Superbike in genera l this weekend . Th e World Superbike final e was as inci dent- packed as anyone cou ld have expected, despite the uniformly panned idea of hav ing the races in Oct ober in the first pla ce. Sur e eno ugh th e rac es were held in conditions th at few tires worked in , and it was anythin g but a warm send-off for the old World Superbike Championship. Fourteen degrees B y GOR D ON R IT CHIE P HOT OS BY G O LD £, G OO SE MAGNY·COCIRS, FRANCE, OCT. 19 k ay , it's not th at close to Paris, bu t the Wo rld Superbik e races at M a g n y · C ours w ere a pretty c lose m at ch for both of th e ent ire 2 3 -l a p co ntests . It's been a lo ng tim e since World Superbike machines thundered around the pecu li ar la yout that i s M ag ny Cours, and on that last occasion Dou g Polen was the man wh o took the rac e wins. On a Ducati, natura lly. Histo ry repeated itself in a different sort of do uble dose at Magn y -Cour s, in th e fi rst Fren ch W or ld Superb ik e ra ces since 1991 . F ir st to score in 2003, Neil Hodg son took his 13th win of the year, an awesome tota l in any seas on , even if th e v as t m aj orit y came at the start of th e y ear. Then , .as Hodgson ' s se c ond race was hex ed ( possib ly his t ot a l o f 12 plus 1 rac e wi ns) , Rub en Xaus deli v ered him sel f his seventh vic to ry of the ye ar , F il a D u c at i ' s 22nd win , and Duc ati's 24th w in of the yea r. Le Co upe D ucati certainly culmi nated at a free zing Fren ch c ircuit in October, but it actually delivered more qu estions than answers. Hodgs on's race - on e win w as an answer of a kind, a resounding answer to those who said the new champ had already lost the plot - j ust a tad m ind you - after his Imola mishaps. Beating O 16 OCTOBER 29. 2003' C II C I e centigrade (5 7 .2 ' F) an yon e? T rack temperatures of 1TC (62.6' F) ? Please no more in 2004! Non eth el ess , Magny -Cours proved to be a happy hunti ng ground for the D uc at i Fila rid ers - a lthoug h Xa us m ore tha n likely left Fr ance th e happi er cha p pie, as h is c ras hes w ere restrict ed to q ua lifying - and a si lly o ne in p o strace ce le brat ion of his race tw o suc cess . After some by now usual problems i n th e e a r l y stages of q u a l i f y in g. Hodgson m ad e a brisk start in rac e one , coming off th e lin e from a fro nt row grid position o f second before tangling w ith his o ld HM Plant Du cati teammat e Jam e s Tos eland , who started from pole for th e first time. Th e latte r had won h is ma iden Superpole the day before th e races and was in determined form. He was to slip down the ord er to fifth after his rear tire choice in th e ridicu l ous t rack temperatures pro ved fallibl e . Xaus had shaken off a less-than perf ect start to r un o ut sec ond , shadowing but not quite able to reach Hodgson . Hodgson himself had th e biza rre experience of his boot fas tenings ' c om ing l o ose m idrac e , although th e distraction proved un im port ant to the final result . " I was j ust tr y ing to stay relaxed and co nserve m y energy, " Ho dg son said . " O nce the gap go t smaller, I had a bit of a chat to myself to make sur e I kept it smooth and did n' t panic. Wi th five laps to go , the zip went on m y b oot , a nd my fo o t w as m oving aro und , wh ich was a bit off - but in the end I was th in king abo ut that and not wo rry ing about the race ." Hodgson was in fac t a c onv inc ing wi nner, upping the pace whe n needed an d looking in control of that latterday fift h element in Wo rl d Supe rb ike raci ng , Xau s. Hodgson , wh o c a nnil y o n ly went out in the morning "w arm " up to be seen practi cing his starts in the co ld cond itio ns, also had local wild child Reg is Lacon i and h is NCR Ducati to deal with , just as David Garcia and Alex Gramigni spira led off the track