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Neil Hodgson on the #100 Team Ducati Parts Unlimited 999R goes through turn 14 at Road America in qualifying for the 2006 round of the AMA Superbike Series' annual trek to the beautiful track in Elkhart Lake, WI. Hodgson won the '00 British Superbike Championship and the '03 World Superbike Championship while riding for Ducati. Neil also rode for Team Honda on the factory team in 2008 and for the satellite effort Corona Honda in a one-off ride in '07 and for the partial season that he wasn't injured in 2009. He will be missed on the track by one and all!
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The #100 Team Ducati Parts Unlimited 999R of Neil Hodgson sits under the awning in the team's paddock area at Road America in June of 2006. Hodgson won race one at Road America in 2005 on a similar bike in a roaring downpour of a rainstorm that saw the race called a little over half-way in. Hodgson was later quoted in Cycle News as just 'being a passenger on a projectile' (or to that effect) when speaking about the horrendous conditions that prevailed in that race. 2006 would be his best overall year in terms of points finishes when he got 5th in the AMA Superbike Championship.
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Neil Hodgson pushed the Team Austin Ducati Parts Unlimited #100 superbike into turn 14 during the running of race 2 at Road America in June of '05. Hodgson won the previous day's race in a pouring rainstorm that was called due to not only a torrential downpour but due to lightning in the area as well. Hodgson was a great representative of the racing community and went out of his way to talk to fans and sign autographs. I had the pleasure of speaking with him a couple of times while shoving 8x10 shots in front of him that I had taken of him in action and he was a pure gent and joy to talk to and with. He will be missed on the track and we can only hope that sometime in the near future he ends up in a race team capacity that brings him back to his fans here in the States. Great to have talked with him when I got the chance! God Bless you Neil, your demeanor, style and bravado will be missed on the track as well as in the paddock. We wish you nothing but the best of luck in your future endeavors and life's pursuits!
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Neil Hodgson on the #100 Team Honda CBR1000RR chases Jamie Hacking on the #2 Team Monster Kawasaki ZX-10R at Road America during race one action in June of 2008. This is in the turn 10/11 areas of the chicane off of the carousel that leads into the back straight. Hodgson sat out the better part of the '07 season except for some testing rides and a 'one-off' AMA Superbike ride at Laguna Seca for Team Corona Honda. He raced for the official factory squad teamed with former '95 AMA Superbike Champion Miguel Duhamel in '08. While riding for the Corona satellite team in '09 he injured his shoulder in a motocross training accident that ultimately led to his retirement announcement today after a try at British Superbikes again for 2010. He crashed during the warm up session at Brands in the opening round and severely re-injured his shoulder predicating the retirement news today.
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News from across the pond hit today that Neil Hodgson, the '00 British Superbike Champion and '03 World Superbike Champion would be hanging up his leathers due to the lingering effects of his injured shoulder that had put him out of action for the better part of the '09 AMA Superbike Championship. Hodgson launched his Rob Mac Motorpoint Yamaha R1 at Brands a few weeks back and landed on the same shoulder. After consulting with several specialists, Neil announced his retirement today as a result of that lingering injury.
He will be missed by one and all and we hope that sometime down the road Neil will end up in some racing capacity that will see him back here in the States again. He has been a true champion and spokesperson for the sport and it would benefit whomever he would be involved with as a rider coach and/or team liason. The level of professionalism and enthusiasm that he has brought to the sport, his sponsors and his fans is unparalled. The man is a true gem.
Thanks for the memories and for your great resolve on and off the track Neil! You will be missed but you will never be forgotten!
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Thanks to Paul Carruthers at CycleNews.com for this rendering of Neil's retirement announcement today:
http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2010/04/22/hodgson-retires
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The official World Superbike site has their version of '03 World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson's retirement announcement from today:
http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/latest-news/3088-former-wsb-champion-hodgson-retires.html
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David Swarts over at John Ulrich's bitchin' RoadRacingWorld.com has an in depth talk with Neil, what led to the decision to retire, and his outlook on his most brilliant future:
http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=40191
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And finally, Dean Adams over at SuperBikePlanet.com waxes poetic on the retirement of Neil Hodgson:
http://superbikeplanet.com/2010/Apr/100222-100.htm
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