MOST of the World Superbike stars swapped a drive around the track for a drive down the fairway yesterday.

But, while the likes of Colin Edwards and Troy Corser tackled the Breadsall Priory golf course where the England football team were staying before tonight's friendly against Mexico, Burnley's Neil Hodgson remained hard at work,fulfilling a string of media engagements.

And that is a measure of the expectation surrounding his appearance at Donington Park this weekend.

The British superbiking public were coming to terms with the serious injury to Carl Fogarty this time last year when Hodgson, battling for the British championship, provided a welcome tonic.

As one of the domestic 'wild card' entrants permitted at each round, Hodgson produced two stunning rides to finish third in the first race and win the second race.

The scenes of jubilation prompted a front page headline in the country's biking bible, Motor Cycle News, asking: 'Who needs Foggy?'

While the editor of that paper later wrote an apology to Carl Fogarty for the insensitivity of the timing, as he struggled to recover from major surgery, that weekend marked the first tentative steps in the search for a worthy British successor.

So far, with that burden weighing heavily on Hodgson after his GSE Racing team took up the world challenge this season, his season has not gone to plan.

He currently lies eighth in the standings after five of the 13 rounds.

His luck was typified two weeks ago when an amazing eight episodes of engine failure knocked the stuffing out of his rising confidence.

Now, on home soil, he must not only rediscover his trust in the Ducati 996, but cope with the added pressures of an adoring public.

"It's weird that the British fans have been to all the rounds.

"Even in Australia and Japan, just about the only flag you saw was the Union Jack.

"There must be some seriously wealthy bike fans out there. But British fans are very passionate about bikes.

"I do not want to let them down. I didn't last year and I don't want to this year.

"Last year was really special for me because my previous outings in World Superbikes had not been too successful.

"So I had nothing to lose and went all out.

"I raced every corner as hard as I could.

"This season has started terribly but in some ways it puts me in the same position as last year in that I've not a lot to lose," said the Burnley rider.

With a 70,000 crowd expected, Hodgson can at least take comfort from the fact that Donington is regarded as one of the technically most difficult tracks and the 27-year-old is regarded as a rider's rider and perfectly equipped for its challenges.

Even reigning world champion Colin Edwards conceded that Hodgson is the man to beat, providing he can handle the pressure.

He said: "Neil's arriving at Donington with a point to prove.

"For whatever reason things haven't gone his way as much as he would have wanted but I'm sure he'll be set on trying to win his home races.

"He'll probably have a bit more pressure to deal with.

"I know that used to get to Carl Fogarty at the Donington round, so Neil will have to handle that now."