Close call for second Hodgson victory

Race two at Phillip Island was the most exciting of the season so far, with all the riders having to fight hard for their places.

Neil Hodgson and Frankie Chili initially got away to a good start but Chili had dropped down in to sixth by lap 5 with Chris Walker polishing his leathers on Chili’s front tyre as he went past.

Ruben Xuas slowly moved up the field from his intitial sixth place, flying past the battle between Chris Walker and Gregorio Lavilla to take second place.

Hodgson had managed to pull out a two-second lead on the rest of the field but once Xaus got him in his sights the gap was soon closed and the two Fila Ducati team-mates pulled away from the rest of the field.

Chili managed to get back in to the game in time to fight his was past Laconi and finish in third place after Lavilla began to slow towards the end of the race. Lavilla eventually dropped down to finish in seventh after an unsuccessful last minute attempt to get past the furious fight between Chris Walker and James Toseland.

The two lead riders exchange places several times but Hodgson managed to hold on to first place crossing the line just 0.07 seconds ahead of Xaus.

He said: ” Ruben was absolutely fantastic. If he is behind you you know he will be less than a millimeter off your back tyre. I could here his bike all the time. I managed to make the most of the TV screens though, I looked up at one of the big screens and saw Ruben coming round the outside of me so I changed my line a little and managed to hold on to the lead. ”

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