Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila) crowned one of the greatest days in Ducati's history when he notched up win number two in the British Round of the World Superbike Championship in front of a record-breaking 83,000 spectators at Silverstone. Earlier in the afternoon Loris Capirossi had scored Ducati's first-ever win in MotoGP with an emotional victory at Barcelona's Circuito de Catalunya.
Shell Advance Motorcycle Oils were protecting the engine of the 999F-03 as it raced to victory during both races at Silverstone, providing tailor-made lubricants to the Ducati Corse team. The development work which goes into the Shell Advance partnership with Ducati on the track is valuable to Shell Advance engineers, as the technology used here is directly transferred to the road product range, benefiting riders all over the world.
Neil clinched his tenth win of the year by the slimmest of margins in an astonishing race one battle with the two Suzukis of Lavilla and Kagayama, team-mate Ruben Xaus, Laconi (NCR Ducati) and Toseland (HM Plant DucatiIt was an unbelievable race, Lavilla's and Kagayama's lines were incredibl commented NeilIt was really tough out there because the lap times were slow, people were fighting for the next corner and just not getting on with the race. I battled and touched fairings with just about everybody!'.
Race two saw more of the same as Neil had to work his way up from ninth on the first lap. He moved into the lead on lap 10 but then had to contend with Lavilla (Suzuki) for the remaining ten laps before taking the chequered flag for his second win of the day and his eleventh of the yearIt's not good to be on pole here at Silverstone; I got an average start and everyone came underneath me. I tried to pick one rider off each lap and keep my eye on the leaders. Luckily JR and Ruben collided because they were going to be difficult to pass. It's been a fantastic day for Ducati and I'd like to dedicate these wins in Britain to David Jefferies, my close friend who was tragically killed in the Isle of Man T.
Ruben Xaus rode a superb race one, which saw him take the lead at one point. The Spanish rider inherited the final podium place when Lavilla crashed out ahead of him at the chicane but kept a cool head in the last few laps to finish thirdWe worked hard all the weekend since Friday and during the race I just took things nice and cal declared RubenI knew the wild cards weren't going to be able to last the race in these conditions. I was just passing and passing until I got the lead. Although I finished fourth, I'm really happy to be on the podium agai.
Ruben again stepped onto the podium in race two with another gritty ride to third after recovering from a clash with Reynolds (Suzuki) which sent the Spaniard careering across the gravel trapI moved really fast in the early laps to fourth, Reynolds was third and we touched. I went across the grass and tried to get back on the track again, I was giving it gas and the slicks were spinning so much. Then I recovered and my lap times were really good. I nearly caught Gregorio at the end, but I'm happy with third and it's nice to have two Spanish riders on the podium, there are too many British guys up here
