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AMA SBK: Hodgson on MMP, Mladin and Spies vs. WSBK
Written by: Chris Martin   
05/15/2008 - 12:44 PM
 
American Honda's Neil Hodgson (Photo: Brian J Nelson) ยป More Photos

Last week American Honda’s Neil Hodgson got a taste of the 4.48-mile Miller Motorsports Park ‘Full Course’ configuration that the AMA Superbike contenders will take to in two weeks as the returning Superbike World Championship takes over the 3.05-mile ‘Outer Course’ the AMA stars ran during the domestic series’ first two trips to Utah.

The former World and British Superbike champion raved about the circuit, although he admitted that he wasn’t accustomed to running such an extended lap. “It’s awesome. It’s probably one of the best tracks I’ve ever been on. It’s bizarre because it’s so long but it flows just perfectly -- it’s hard to believe for that period of time, but it really does. It’s a pleasure to ride but it’s weird. I’ve never done such a long lap and it’s kind of hard to stay concentrated.

“Sometimes you’ll go out, go past start/finish, go around, and come in because you’ve got a problem and you’ve been out on the track for probably over six or seven minutes and you’ve yet to even set a single lap time. It just seems really weird.

“My mechanics asked me about my rear tire and I said I wanted a new one,
and they said, ‘You’ve only done nine laps on that.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, but that’s over half-race distance.’ And it really is, the race is only 14 laps. So that was well over half-race distance. Things like that are weird.”

Hodgson is looking forward to catching up with some old friends as the two championships join up for the four-day weekend but admits he’s a bit disappointed by the fact that the two separate track configurations will eliminate the opportunity for any timesheet showdowns.

Considering his position as a perennial frontrunner in AMA, World, and British Superbike racing over the past decade, few are better positioned to judge the relative strengths of the respective series. Hodgson is open in his assessment that no other production bike racers in the world are currently at the same standard of dominating AMA stars Ben Spies and Mat Mladin.

“It’s a shame we’re not (running the same configuration),” Hodgson said. “You always want the championship you’re riding in to be the fastest and I know Mat and Ben would circulate faster than the World Superbike boys. The (spec) tire thing is always going to be the argument, but I know they would be anyway.”
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