Former Superbike World Champion Neil Hodgson blames current Superbike World Champion Troy Bayliss for blocking his return to the factory Ducati World Superbike team for the 2007 season. In a posting on his website, www.neilhodgson.com, Hodgson wrote, in part: “I’m currently in a position that I feel very uncomfortable with. I haven’t experienced it for over ten years. I am unemployed. “My career plans took an unsuspected turn when I was told by Ducati Corse that they would not be requiring my services for the 2007 World Superbike campaign. “It appears that Troy Bayliss didn’t want to be put under pressure by having a competitive teammate and Ducati have bowed to his demands. This has left me as the longestserving Ducati rider facing the prospect of changing brands for the first time in eight years.” After winning the Superbike World Championship for Ducati in 2003 and suffering through a frustrating 2004 season riding for the underfunded Pramac d’Antin Ducati MotoGP team, Hodgson rode for the factory Ducati AMA Superbike team in 2005 and 2006. He finished sixth in the 2005 AMA Championship with one race win, in the rain at Road America, and six podium appearances. Hodgson finished fifth in the 2006 AMA Superbike Championship but only visited the podium three times, all coming after traction control electronics were legalized mid-season. Ducati decided to not field an official AMA Superbike team in 2007, leaving Hodgson searching for a new ride.