Hodgson added to Donington line-up...

Subject: Hodgson added to Donington line-up... Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:45 am

Quote :: 2003 World Superbike champion Neil Hodgson will be back on track at next weekend's Donington Park round, but not in a competitive capacity.

Hodgson was unable to find a seat for the start of the 2007 season, but rumours had linked him to a possible Yamaha ride starting from his home event. However, Neil will instead join former WSBK stars such as Fred Merkel and Scott Russell in a motorcycle parade around the Leicestershire circuit, as part of WSBK's 20th anniversary celebrations.

The parade will take place on Saturday 31 March, from 12.55pm – 13.25pm, with riders scheduled to take part including: Fred Merkel, Aaron Slight, Neil Hodgson, John Reynolds, Piergiorgio Bontempi, Pierfrancesco Chili, James Whitam, Peter Goddard and Rob Phillis. There will also be special guest appearances by Davide Tardozzi, Paolo Casoli, Giancarlo Falappa and Roger Burnett, while bikes ridden by Carl Fogarty and Raymond Roche will be on display.

"We are privileged to be hosting such a special event," said Donington Park's CEO Simon Gillett. "It is very rare to get so many famous faces from the motorcycle racing world in one place and gain a true insight into the history of WSBK. This is an exciting time for Donington Park and we are expecting this weekend to be a great success."

Donington hosted the first ever WSBK round in April 1988 and is returning to the calendar for the first time since 2001.

Crash