By Glenn LeSanto

He had his first World Superbike race win of the season at the last round in Donington, now he’s got his first Superpole victory – Neil Hodgson is on a roll. After a difficult start to the season it all seems to be coming together for Hodgson and the GSE Ducati team. After qualifying fourth in final practice, Hodgson lifted his game just enough to grab pole for Sunday’s World Superbike Championship race at Lausitzring. Hodgson, who won the British Superbike Championship last year, was in a relaxed and confident mood after Superpole.

“It’s nice to get a Superpole win – I get more money for that so now I can pay a few bills,” joked Hodgson afterwards. He also spoke about the all-new Lausitzring circuit, which is situated between Dresden and Berlin in Germany. “To be honest I didn’t like the track when I first came here on Wednesday for testing, I thought it was a little repetitive – even boring. But by the end of Friday, when I had found a better set-up, I started to get quicker and I started to enjoy it more. It won’t be good if it rains hard for the race, though, as the track doesn’t drain well and it’ll make conditions very difficult.”

Joining Hodgson on the front row will be Troy Corser, Colin Edwards and Tady Okada. Corser almost beat Hodgson’s time, “I was on my way to pole but had a little slide in the final turn, that’s all it takes in Superpole to lose a few places. Just look at what happened to Izutsu,” said Corser, referring to the Kawasaki rider’s near-highside. Izutsu’s lap was looking very good until he almost highsided in the penultimate turn, pushing him down to 15th
on the grid.

Ben Bostrom, still suffering from the shoulder he injured in Monza, had a good Superpole. He jumped from 15th in final qualifying to fifth on the grid. Steve Martin, who had impressed in qualifying with third fastest, lost ground – ending up on the second row in seventh.

World Superbike Championship
Lausitzring, Germany
Final qualifying times:
1.Neil Hodgson, GB (Ducati) 1:40.205
2.Troy Corser, Australia (Aprilia) 1:40.316
3.Colin Edwards, USA (Honda) 1:40.356
4.Tady Okada, Japan (Honda) 1:40.364
5.Ben Bostrom, USA (Ducati) 1:40.368
6.Pier-Francesco Chili, Italy (Suzuki) 1:40.431
7.Steve Martin, Australia (Ducati) 1:40.458
8.Troy Bayliss, Australia (Ducati) 1:40.495
9.Regis Laconi, France (Aprilia) 1:40.600
10.Akira Yanagawa, Japan (Kawasaki) 1:40.719