THE European round of the Superbike World Championship at Brands Hatch got off to a positive start for HM Plant Ducati riders Neil Hodgson and James Toseland.

The pair are anxious to put in the kind of performances that the 120,000-plus crowd expected to flock to the Kent circuit for tomorrow's two Superbike races knows they are capable of.

In the first of the weekend's timed qualifying sessions Hodgson earned himself fourth place on the provisional grid, while his team-mate managed to go 13th quickest.

Brands Hatch has always been a special event for Hodgson and the scene of some spectacular victories over the years.

He realises more than anyone else the weight of expectation that hangs over him and is determined to take his first victory of the season in front of the massive contingent of HM Plant Ducati fans.

He also realises that victory does not come in the first qualifying session.

"Of course I'd have liked to have been on provisional pole," says Hodgson, "but I have a few things to sort out before I can really begin to push it and, providing it stays dry, yesterday's times don't really mean that much.

"Plus I'm only 0.3secs off Troy Bayliss' pole time anyway.

"The most important thing at the moment is to find the right tyre and adapt my bike to the circuit.

"My HM Plant Ducati 998 F01 is quite different from the bike that I last raced here and I know this track so well that any tiny little difference stands out a mile.

"So, I'm just getting used to the way it behaves compared to my old bike. I tried too many tyres out to get into a decent rhythm as well, but I'm going to sort it out for today because I'm expecting things to hot up and I think that we'll see some 1:25sec laps.

"Once the bike's right there's no reason why I can't do that sort of time and take pole."

Toseland also used the first timed session wisely and made good progress in his search for the optimum set-up for his machine.

"I'm having a few problems getting the bike settled after braking," he explains. "The way it is at the moment means that I can't get on the power quick enough on the way out of corners, and that's costing me time.

"I don't think that I'm the only one struggling out there but we are getting closer to finding a solution.

"It'd be nice to get on the second row straight-away, especially as there's so much support for the team, but that's just not the way it works most of the time.

"It's early days and it'll be a different story by the time Superpole rolls around."

First qualifying times: 1. T. Bayliss (Ducati) 1:26.398, 2. C. Edwards (Honda) +0.052, 3. R. Xaus (Ducati) +0.201, 4. N. Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) +0.324, 5. P. Chili (Ducati) +0.388, 6. M. Rutter (Ducati) +0.479, 7. S. Byrne (Ducati) +0.844, 8. C. Walker (Kawasaki) +0.896, 9. J. Borja (Ducati) +0.984, 10. N. Haga (Aprilia) +1.051, 11. G. Lavilla (Suzuki) +1.112

12. B. Bostrom (Ducati) +1.125, 13. J. Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) +1.368, 14. G. Richards (Kawasaki) +1.541, 15. M. Sanchini (Kawasaki) +1.569, 16. D. Ellison (Ducati) +1.666.

Current positions: 1 T. Bayliss 405, 2 C. Edwards 352, 3 N. Hodgson 221, 4 B. Bostrom 184, 5 N. Haga (Aprilia) 182, 6 R. Xaus (Ducati) 172, 7 J. Toseland 124, 8 C. Walker 108, 9 P. Chili 90, 10 G. Lavilla (Suzuki) 84

Foggy's bike on show

FOUR-times World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty will be showing off his new Foggy Petronas FP1 bike at Brands Hatch.

The Blackburn rider had hoped to launch his new team on the track in England this weekend but will now have to wait until next season to have a go in the World Championships.

Foggy Petronas Racing failed to meet homologation standards required by world governing body the FIM.

However, the bike - which has an aerodynamic nose and its highly sculpted double exhaust tail end - will be available for bike enthusiasts to have a good look at in Kent.

Troy Corser and James Haydon will be on the bikes for the start of the 2003 championship race.