EXCITING CONTENT
NEIL HODGSON - 16 RACE WINS World Champion 2003 - Ducati After winning the World Championship in 2003 for Ducati , in a season when many outside the Anglosphere thought his team-mate Ruben Xaus was a better bet , Neil Hodgson went MotoGP™ for an ill-fated season on a less than reliable bike . He just wanted to leave that particular environment , especially as it was exacerbating problems that Neil had always faced as a racer . “ Racing was too stressful , man ,” he said shortly before heading to another TV studio to commentate on MotoGP™ for BT Sport . “ Life now is easy , and fun and stress free . We are all individuals and everybody deals with stress and pressure in a different way and for me I struggled with it . I took it too seriously , and I was too stressed . I am well happy now , miles easier .” He did , however , really enjoy the AMA career that came after his ultimately successful WorldSBK career , and a tough MotoGP™ season . As a regular kid from the north of the grey UK , living on the coast in California had its compensations in lifestyle , “ I did not regret going ,” said Hodgson . “ You have one life and this is it . This-is-your-life … I lived in Southern California , Laguna Beach , met some incredible people . The racing side of things didn ’ t go to plan but there were a lot of good experiences along the way . I have so got no regrets . It was absolutely amazing ! If you went to Laguna beach now and walked around you would say , ‘ fair play Neil …’ You would get it .” Neil , who is still based on the Isle of Man , his long-time European centre of life , said that the immediate period after racing was the worst for him . And Hodgson is another that injury forced out the garage door , in some ways at least . “ I had an injury to my shoulder but it was equally that I had had enough ,“ said Neil about stopping racing completely in 2010 . “ I was struggling and could not do what I could do . Racing bikes is not fun if you are battling way lower down than you are expected to . The next 12 months were shaky , and I understand why a lot of riders struggle , why depression can be a serious part for a lot of ex-professionals . You go from your phone ringing non-stop ,
20 years of racing , everything is organised and you are flat out , and then literally when you retire - nothing . Zero . Everything stops . I thought ‘ I will sit back and wait for the phone to ring ’. But what my dad once told me , many years ago , is that if you want anything in life , make it happen . The phone did not ring in that first year , and some dark days when you were down depressed , feeling ‘ is this it ’? But , then you have to fight and make plans .” His now-business partner and former team-mate and rival , Niall Mackenzie - yes , that one - called him one day to come and do a track day . “ Niall really helped me , which is probably not a surprise to people who know him really well .” Niall asked Neil on a track day , and despite being reticent , even thinking it maybe a bit infradig , Hodgson ended up doing a European one , a Focused Events four day track day , and loved it , “ Oh , I like this , this is fun !”, said Hodgson at the time “ Then that was the start of the next phase of my life .” Neil then did TV pundit work , for Eurosport , and then some regular TV presenter stuff , which proved to be almost a ‘ showreel ’ for Hodgson , part of what opened the door when BT Sport took over MotoGP™ coverage on TV . Since then , it ’ s been all good for Neil . “ We are in year eight , and it is literally the best job in the world . I am obsessed with it and love every part of it . When you are racing , you race really hard and you are fully stressed . You can have a beer , occasionally , on a Sunday night if you have had a good result . With TV , you can have a beer every night ! You are there with your mates ! I am not saying you ’ re getting leathered , but you can have some pints and a nice meal . And you talk about racing anyway , you never switch off from it .” Neil also acts as manager for Alex Lowes , and now he and Niall Mackenzie have created ‘ Mackenzie Hodgson ’ insurance brokers , building their base every year from the start up five years ago . They specialise in motorcycle insurance , logically . Next for Neil ? More of the same , as he has just signed a new deal with BT Sport and loves all the other things he does too .
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