THIS is the biggest week of Neil Hodgson's life. Not only has he just become a dad for the first time, but he is on the verge of landing his lifelong goal of the World Superbike Championship.

In the first of three articles chief reporter Michelle Fiddler spoke to the Burnley boy at his luxury home on the Isle of Man...

FOR a man who makes a career out of speed, Neil Hodgson slips effortlessly into the slow paced life of the Isle of Man.

Born and bred in Burnley, Neil moved to the island in 1998, but admits it has taken him five years for it to start feeling like home.

Together with wife Kathryn he has just moved from a modern penthouse flat to a more private detached split-level house, with a neatly tended garden and a panoramic view of the sea you couldn't put a price on.

And it's proving a heavenly move for the couple.

"It's paradise...I love it here. I never get bored of the view," says Neil, nicknamed the Burnley Bullet, as he gazes out of his dining room window at the unspoilt view of the beautiful Douglas harbour.

But relaxing at home is proving something of a novelty for the 29-year-old, who is on the verge of becoming the first British roadrace world champion since Blackburn's Carl Fogarty in 1999. He needs just ten points from a potential 50 on offer at Sunday's World Superbike round in Assen, Holland, to be crowned champion for the first time - an event which prompted the couple's first baby to be induced, so the dates didn't clash.

And before Holly's birth on Tuesday the couple, who thought they were going to have a boy, had spent weeks preparing for the big day by decorating her nursery and attending ante-natal classes.

Neil said: "Holly's birth was the best experience of my life. You spend your whole life aiming to be world champion so for the race to fall on the day that Holly was due to be born is typical.

"But I knew this was going to be an unbelievably emotional week.

"To me both events, Holly's birth and the World Championship this weekend, are equally important, although perhaps in ten years time I won't see it that way."

Neil is just at the end of a three week break on the island, but it is the longest time he has spent in one place in two years.

Being in the middle of his potential championship winning season means Neil has spent most of this year travelling to some of the world's most glamorous destinations, including Australia and America, to attend race meetings, as well as countless test sessions and promotional shoots. But he says it is not all as impressive as it sounds.

"My lifestyle is hectic, not glamorous. It can be really stressful and you never know if you are coming or going. When you fly out to other countries you seem to spend 90 per cent of your time at the airport or on the motorway.

"At the end of the season we normally have a holiday, but to be honest it would be nice to have two weeks where we weren't living out of a suitcase.

"When I come back here I just want to sit and read the newspapers. My main focus is to chill out."

Despite living in what some consider to be the biker's Mecca, Neil has never entered the island's famous TT race, because he considers it to be "too dangerous", and says he would never dream of riding a motorbike on the island's roads.

In fact none of his motorbikes are kept on the island, but are instead kept with the Ducati team in Italy.

"When I come back here why would I want to put my leathers on? It would be like a busman's holiday.

"I am not a biker. I like watching bikes racing on TV but that is about it," he explains.

"I don't like talking about bikes. I get a thrill from racing them in competitions but I have no interest in them mechanically. They are horrible, dirty, expensive things."

Neil instead prefers to spend his free time keeping fit and catching up with friends, including fellow bikers Doug Lampkin and until recently Steve Hislop, who tragically died in a helicopter accident in the Scottish borders earlier this year.

In a typical day he gets up at 8am, has breakfast and spends a couple of hours at the gym. He then spends the rest of the day making phone calls, having lunch and taking trips into the centre of Douglas with Kathryn. He said: "I enjoy exercising. I go to the gym and do a lot of cycling. It is a lot healthier living here. I have never been as fit or well.

"The Isle of Man is very similar to Lancashire. When I ride over the hills and on the roads it is like being back in Burnley.

"When the sun shines it is paradise because I am an outdoors person, but the winters can be very long and it drags when it rains.

"It can also feel a bit claustrophobic because there are no surprises in Douglas, so a few times me and Kathryn have flown over to Dublin for the weekend, which is only 30 minutes away.

"I also like watching bike videos and doing bits of DIY - anything to take my mind off my main job."

Neil's parents Mark and Maureen, who still live in Burnley, come over to the island two or three times a year to visit the couple and Neil and Kathryn are frequent visitors to Burnley, which Neil says he still refers to as "home".

He said: "My friends in Burnley and those in the Isle of Man are totally different. During the season I like to stay healthy. But when you are out in Burnley it's a kebab and back home at three in the morning.

"I haven't been out drinking in Douglas for about a year, although we often go out for a meal with friends, but the Manx people are not fussy or intrusive. In the same way that Burnley is football friendly, the island is obviously biker-friendly. Even my doctor and dentist are fans.

"But I can't believe how expensive everything is here - from property to food. I remember when we first came here going for a Chinese takeaway which cost £40!

"But it only really sinks in when I go back home to Burnley and my mum and dad take me to their local pub where you can get egg and chips for a couple of pounds."