Briton Neil Hodgson has set the American Superbike off-season woods ablaze by leaving the exalted MotoGP ranks for an Austin Ducati ride for 2005. He may have his work set out for him in terms of beating Mat Mladin for the US title, but as is obvious from this interview, Hodgson is excited to begin the next stage of his career and has a fairly no nonsense attitude about his quest.

Hodgson called the Soup office yesterday for this interview.

Q Your move from MotoGP to AMA has sparked a lot of interest here in America. Obviously, the trend is for riders to move from AMA to MotoGP. You're doing the opposite.

A Well, as you know, I won the World Superbike championship in 2003. And then got an opportunity to go to MotoGP, and basically didn't really know what to expect. But having had a season in MotoGP, the biggest thing I've learnt is that you need to be in a factory team, for one, or in a very, very good team, in a very good semi-factory team. And unfortunately, that didn't happen for me. So what happens is, you find yourself in a position where you sat on a grid riding against some very talented guys on better bikes and better teams. So it's frustrating. You find yourself in a position where you're in a race to battle between 12th and 15th. And that didn't appeal to me. It appeals to some people, but...

And because I had a poor season, because everything didn't work for me, then I knew next year, if I stayed in MotoGP, I would only be in the same position. And for me, the secret to racing is the enjoyment, and knowing you can win. So when you're put in that position, you know you can't win, you've not got a chance of winning, it's not fun at all. So I was then given the opportunity to go back to World Superbike and given the opportunity to go to AMA. And of the two options I was given by Ducati, the AMA looked a lot more attractive. And, for me, a complete new challenge.

Neil Hodgson Bio

Born: November 20, 1973 (31) Birthplace: Burnley, Lancanshire (UK) Residence: Douglas, Isle of Man Wife: Kathryn Little known "Neil The H" facts: Second generation motorcycle racer, former motocrosser Managed by ex-racer Roger Burnett Former 125 GP rider Former 500 rider, put the WCM/ROC Yamaha on the front row in Argentina Former Ducati Corse WSC rider—teamed with John Kocinski in '96 Survived the Kawasaki Eckl WSC years seemingly intact Had a wonderful post-race fist-fight with Aaron Slight once, but we certainly won't go into that here Nearly a Fast by Ferracci and\or Castrol Honda rider in the late 1990s. Brush with mainstream greatness: while at Eckl, Hodg' worked with Yank mechanic Rick Johnson, who bears a striking resembelence to "Weird Al" Yankovic.

Q Regarding your MotoGP season, was it the first couple of races in where you realized this was, at the very least, going to be very difficult?

A (Listen to Hodgson's answer to this question by clicking here. MP3 format, 250k)

Q Is the money that much much in MotoGP for a rider such as yourself, that you really had no choice but to go there for a season after winning the championship?

A Yeah—the money's definitely better than in World Superbikes. Loads better than in World Superbike. I think World Superbikes, at the moment, because of the lack of interest from the manufacturers, there's no money in it. The interest from the manufacturers brings money, it brings bargaining power. They want a rider, so they'll pay for it. What you've got, is you've got the factory Ducati team, and then a bunch of, basically, enthusiastic team owners that have not got the financial backing of a factory. So because of that, there's no money in it.

To be totally honest, it's not in a much healthier position—financially, it's not in a much better position than something like the British championship, which is notorious, over the years, for not paying very well.

Q Without getting too specific, is helmet money in MotoGP equitable to salary money in World Superbike?

A It would be, certainly, for the top riders. Probably what Valentino Rossi will earn for wearing a helmet, that will be double what World [Superbike] Champion James Toseland will earn for his contract. And that's fact, because I know roughly what James earns and I known roughly what Valentino would get for wearing a helmet. It's crazy, really.

Q I really enjoyed the book that you authored a couple of years ago. Do you have any plans to write any more?

A You know what, I didn't, but I might be interested in doing something with this move, because certainly in the UK it's sparked a lot of interest. And certainly, in the UK, not many people know that much about the AMA, so there would be a big interest, to find more information: what was it like behind the scenes, tell us the story, as such. So it would be something I will look into, to possibly do a diary of the AMA season.

Q The AMA series is shown on British TV. Have you followed it at all?

A Yeah, I've watched just the last couple of years, really. Actually, I've got to say, I've always watched, whenever I've got chances to see races—I used to always get someone to send me the Daytona video, because Daytona, it was always like, the world-famous Daytona 200! You know what I mean? So it was always a good race to watch. But during the last two years, I've watched nearly every race, with a lot of excitement, because the races—the tracks look unbelievable, and the riders—certainly, it's an extremely high standard. And the racing looks so close. And I just—I mean, I'm a racer, so you watch those races, and you think, "Shit, I'd love to be a part of that. That looks like fun." So that's why the decision wasn't a massive decision.

And it's actually surprised some people, but it's not surprised me, because I was - you know what I mean, I knew how I already felt about the AMA.

Q Regarding tires. You used Dunlop for many years, and then Michelin with Corse. Austin Ducati hasn't committed to a tire for next year. Which do you prefer, or is it really not that much of a dilemma for you?

A Well, I think I'd like to continue my relationship with Michelin, just because I've had some great success with them back in World Superbike. But previous to that, I was a Dunlop rider, you know what I mean. I did seven or eight seasons on Dunlop. So I would like to continue my relationship with Michelin, because they've been very, very kind to me. But, on the other hand, if it's Dunlops, it's Dunlops, and I wouldn't have a problem with that.

Q You've raced against most of the guys here in the US, usually at Laguna in World Superbike. Who do you see as your main competition going in?

A Well, I've never raced against Jake Zemke, but I've watched him this year and been really impressed with him. He's got a pretty conservative riding style, as well. He doesn't actually look that fast on the bike. He's the only one that's sort of the unknown. But the rest of them—I'm sort of impressed with them all. You know what I mean, the main men, the top six. I know them all. Because I know Ben Bostrom's no slouch, I know Eric Bostrom's no slouch, having spent more time on the track with them. And I see, in a lot of the events, how far behind Duhamel and Mladin they are. So I know the pace is red-hot, it really is. I just genuinely believe that the level of those top riders is higher than World Superbike, and that's why I've chosen to go there.

Q Have you ridden any US tracks other than Laguna and Daytona?

A Just Laguna and Daytona. I've been sent all the videos over. I've not started watching them yet. I'm going on holiday next week. And then when I get back, I'm starting my homework.

Q What was your Daytona experience like?

A I just did one year there. I did it as a privateer in '95, on a privateer Ducati. It was awesome. Absolutely loved it. Just—just—for me, being a bike racer, it's about adrenaline. And you get somewhere like Daytona, with the history of the place, and you get on the banking, and that's why you race bikes. Yeah, it's dangerous, but so's bike racing. You know what I mean. Unfortunately. I'm a fan of let's make the tracks as safe as we can, but every now and again, you get yourself on that banking, and for me, that's what racing's about. You know what I mean?

Continued