NEIL Hodgson is more hungry for success than ever.

In fact, he's absolutely starving.

For, having chewed up and spat out the cream of superbike's world stars, all he could think about was what was for tea.

"I found it so hard to concentrate on the last lap. I'd hardly eaten all weekend and I think I was thinking about what I was going to eat at night," said the INS-GSE Ducati rider after claiming a stunning victory in race two of the World Superbike championship meeting at Brands Hatch.

And the rider, who now lives in the Isle of Man, was only a whisker away from making it a sensational double after coming second to Troy Bayliss in the first race.

That clash was a case of Made in Burnley versus Borrowed from Blackburn. For Bayliss is only riding in the world championship after replacing Carl Fogarty in the factory Ducati team when the world champion was badly injured.

But if ever there was a ready made replacement British hero should Foggy decide to call it a day, it's Hodgson.

Having dropped out of world competition in the previous two seasons to regain his confidence and reinvent himself as a win-at-all-costs rider in the British domestic championship, which he is now leading, Hodgson has started to fulfil his undoubted potential.

His slogan says it all: 'No More Mr Nice Guy'.

And he added: "I could go on forever about my career and how I lost faith in my ability. Throughout that time my parents and manager, Roger Burnett, kept faith in me and I dedicate this victory to them.

"I know the team manager, Darrell Healey has a dream to take this team to WSB next year.

"My ambition is to stay with GSE Ducati racing and help him fulfil that dream. Hopefully it will happen next year."

Hodgson has also started to win over the fans, previously cool to his studious and somewhat passive style, as shown by the amazing scenes at the end of the second race when he hurled his gloves and helmet into the finishing straight stands.

And there was no doubting his fired-up intention from the very first bend of racing action.

Having started slowly from pole, Hodgson squeezed inside a group of other riders but ran onto the kerb and, to stop himself running off, closed the throttle and attempted to lift the bike up.

That caused problems for Colin Edwards with a resulting domino effect causing Steve Hislop and Noriyuki Haga to crash out.

Hislop was taken to hospital by ambulance but suffered no serious injury. In the restarted race Hodgson again had to work his way up from the back and, once more, had rivals' hearts in their mouths when he nearly clipped the back wheel of Haga. That mistake proved crucial and, although he briefly passed Bayliss on the penultimate lap to take the lead, the Ducati man had more horsepower in the key areas to retake Hodgson.

The second race, again restarted after Troy Corser high-sided into the gravel, served to emphasise Hodgson's domination.

Having come from fourth to take an early lead, Hodgson powered away and set a new lap record of one minute 26.910 seconds on the eighth lap while building up a five second lead on Bayliss.

Only when the hunger pangs set in did Hodgson allow that gap to diminish by way of a few wheelies in the closing sections.

The fact that championship leader Colin Edwards struggled in both races puts Hodgson's achievements into perspective.

And the Texan may well have to stomach the sight of Hodgson's exhaust on a more frequent basis -- maybe even again this year with talk of the final threatened round in Imola being switched to Brands -- if his world championship ambitions are realised.

First race result: 1 Troy Bayliss, Australia (Ducati), 2 Neil Hodgson, GB (Ducati), 3 Chris Walker, GB (Suzuki), 4 John Reynolds, GB (Ducati), 5 Noriyuki Haga, Japan (Yamaha), 6 Troy Corser, Australia (Aprilia)

Second race result: 1 Hodgson 36m 33.880s, 2 Bayliss 36m 34.612s, 3 Chili 36m 38.639s, 4 Haga 36m 40.961s, 5 Yanagawa 36m 41.797s, 6 Edwards 36m 43.507s

Championship points after 10 of 13 rounds: 1 Edwards 281, 2 Corser 257, 3 Haga 256, 4 Chili 214, 5 Bayliss 187, 6 Yanagawa 169, 7 Ben Bostrom, USA (Ducati) 154, 8 Fujiwara 116, 9 Slight 107, 10 Hodgson 86.

Manufacturers: 1 Ducati 333, 2 Honda 294, 3 Yamaha 282, 4 Suzuki 274, 5 Aprilia 262, 6 Kawasaki 248, 7 Bimota 37.

Next round: Assen - September 3