NEW!!! FastDates.com Apparel

IT’S A GIRL!
9/02/03 -Neil and Kathryn Hodgson announce the birth of their baby girl, Holly Jean, born at 14:30 today and weighing in at 7 pounds. The birth of the couple’s first child was induced a week early at Douglas hospital on the Isle of Man in order that Neil could be present at the birth before flying to Assen ready for his next WSB this weekend.

Neil Hodgsen checks in as World Superbike Season draws towards a close
"I’ve been taking some time off this month of August and laying low. I was pretty tired after Brands Hatch at the end of July. It’s been a long season and the season seemed to be going by really fast but it had really started to take its toll on me what with one thing and another. It’s been pretty much non-stop all year really and it wasn’t until after Brands that I really realised how tired I was.

I was ill at the time and I think it was because I was so run down so this five-week break couldn’t have come at a better time. At Brands Hatch I was just about running on empty, you know? My performance kind of reflected that and Brands Hatch was one of the meetings where we struggled to get enough dry track time to get a good set-up. I know it sounds like an excuse but that’s pretty much how it’s been this year. We’ve struggled all year because this is a totally new bike and we’ve been starting from scratch at every circuit.

It’s frustrating for me because Brands is my home race and you arrive there with a target on your back and all the wildcard lads are out to get you. It’s a big deal in the UK and I don’t want to sound like a sore loser but I did feel frustrated. The thing in the back of my mind was that if I wrapped the championship there it would be great for Kathryn because she won’t be able to make Assen. That’s racing I guess and I’m a factory rider now so in the end it was just better that I took the broad view and rode for the championship.
So because the baby is due around the same date as Assen, Kathryn will go into the hospital here on the Isle of Man on the 1st of September to be induced. This way I can guarantee being there for the birth. I then leave for Assen on Thursday the 4th and unless she has the world’s longest labour I should be a dad!

We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl but we’ve got a short list of names ready in either case. We’re not going to make the final decision until after it’s arrived. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted!

I’ve not really had any great results at Assen so I can’t say that I’ve really enjoyed the place before. I think last year I had a technical problem in the first race and I was on for a podium place in the second one but Haga ran me off the track! I know a lot of people say that it’s their favourite track but it’s not one of mine. I don’t hate it, but I guess it’s always been a bit of a Michelin track before and until this year I’ve always been on Dunlops. The big problem is that Kathryn won’t be able to be there. My folks are coming over and lots of friends, but Kathryn will be with the baby.

I’ve just moved house here on the Isle of Man again, which has kept me kind of busy. It’s our second move in six months and what with the baby and the World Championship and everything I guess I’m doing all the most stressful things together in one year. It’s the most perfect and hardest year together. We’ve only moved 200 metres up the road but it involves the same amount of work as moving 200 miles I guess. So we’re here now and settling in and I’ve been a bit of a DIY [Do-It-Yourself] king while I’ve got some time to get things straight before it all goes crazy again. I’ve quite enjoyed the DIY thing actually, it’s got my mind off of bikes plus the phone has quieted down because everyone’s on holiday I guess.

I’m going to a memorial service tonight here in the Isle of Man for Steve Hislop. His death was such a heart-breaking thing. Because we race in a dangerous sport I think we’re all kind of prepared for the worst if something happens to someone like when we lost David Jefferies at the TT this year. That was so upsetting but he died doing something that he enjoyed and I think we all understand that. I don’t want that to come across wrong but… I think we’re just prepared for when it happens. I know that Steve was doing something that he enjoyed as well but you just don’t expect it away from a race. Does that make any sense? He lived just up the road from me here and when I’m in town now and I see someone the same build as him and with a shaved head I think it’s him. I expect to see him, you know? I couldn’t get to his funeral but I’m going along to his memorial tonight.

On a lighter note, I’m back on form and I’m coming out fighting for these last few rounds to finish the year on a high so stick with me!Talk to you next week...

The New 2004 FastDates.com Calendars now available!

Covergirls Janelle, Chandi and Joanna Krupa get down to work
in the 2004 Garage Girls calendar available right here.

The sexy under age Canadian pop rock group LILLIX will have you doing hard time in no time with their incredible debute alblum..

New chassis parts helped Capirossi and Bayliss fight for the win at Brno, and further refinements have been made since then to give the pair an even better chance of success at Estoril on Sunday.

Loris Capirossi has already proved that the Ducati MotoGP Team Desmosedici is a winning machine. The super-determined Italian won the bike’s first MotoGP success at Catalunya in June and he looked capable of repeating that success at Brno last month until a minor electrical fault halted his victory assault three laps from the finish. This weekend Capirossi will be out to make up for the misfortune and bolster his championship position.

“We put what happened at Brno behind us,” says Capirossi. “At least that race proved just how good the bike is at the moment, so Estoril shouldn’t be bad for us. We went okay there during winter testing but the bike has changed quite a lot since then, so we will have to work carefully on set-up. We’ve made good progress this year, and we’re now at a very good level. The new frame we received at Brno helped improve the overall balance of the bike, and the new Ohlins fork and Michelin front tyres we tried during the tests make the bike even better in direction changes and also more stable on the brakes. I think everyone can see we’re moving in the right direction. The test team is working really hard to help us, we appreciate their input.”

Capirossi still holds fourth in the World Championship standings, just one point ahead of Bayliss, who has scored podium finishes at the last two GPs. And Ducati is still running strong in the manufacturers’ championship, currently holding second place in its debut MotoGP season.
Estoril is MotoGP’s final race in Europe before the paddock heads oversees for a gruelling run of four flyaway races in Brazil, Japan, Malaysia and Australia over just five weekends. The GP circus returns to Europe for the season finale at Valencia, Spain, on November 2.