Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus kept up Ducati's winning streak with a one-two triumph in both Australian rounds of the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island.
The Ducati Corse team have had a fantastic start to the season, using technical partner Shell Advance's lubricants during testing and at every race. Shell Advance engineers are able to use the information they gather from the Ducati Corse team to continually innovate via the application of science and improve the Shell Advance road product range, benefiting bikers all over the world.
Hodgson battled with Pier-Francesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) in the early laps of race one, but when the Italian dropped out with engine problems on lap five, he maintained a healthy cushion to the chequered flagI really wanted to win this race as a tribute to Barry Sheene, who passed away recentl, declared NeilI just wanted to fly, lead and not let anyone attack, so I was surprised when Chili came underneath me at the hairpin. I was pleased that he was there, no one wants to be on their own in a race, and when Chili dropped out I was disappointed, but I wasn't going to roll back the throttle to make a show. I continued at the same pace and went for it
In race two, Hodgson was unable to pull out much of a lead from a group of six riders and then had an exciting scrap for the win with teammate Xaus over the last eight lapsI tried to break everyone early on, got a bit of a lead, stayed consistent with a fast pace but then Ruben started chipping away he addedWhen he got close I decided to have a bit of a rest, that was my cunning plan. I knew from all the other races today that everyone who led out of the last corner won so that was in my mind at the end. My bike was so fast today so I thought that if I could do that, then I would win
Xaus was involved in a superb scrap with Gregorio Lavilla until lap 20 of race one, when the Suzuki rider was forced to slow the pace due to tyre problems, leaving Ruben in a comfortable secondI did a really bad start but took things calm during the rac said RubenI was having a good battle with Gregorio and this was good for me and for the championship
Race two saw Ruben work his way up the field again to catch leader Neil on lap 14 but he was unable to overhaul his team-mate as they flashed across the line separated by 70/100ths of a secondThat race was really good. I saw that Neil wasn't going so fast because its difficult to set a pace when you're on your own. When I passed him I tried to go but he broke my rhythm with different lines in some corners and then it was impossible to pass him at the end of the race. At the last lap I tried at Honda corner but Neil braked really hard and closed the door and that was it. My bike was perfect today, a big thanks for my mechanics who have worked enough this weekend for the rest of the year
