American Idol

The Burnley Bullet is aiming to take the States by storm when he makes his American Superbikes Championship debut in Daytona tomorrow.

But he is going to have to do it without the aid of his collection of computer games.

Last season, Hodgson used his race games to good effect to get used to the MotoGP circuits after making the move from World Superbikes.

But the 31-year-old says that the American Superbike games are so out of date, he has had to rely on video footage and speaking to other riders to get to know the courses.

"One of the ways I got used to MotoGP was to spend hours on the Playstation games," said Hodgson who has crossed the Atlantic to race for the Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin team.

"But they haven't got a computer game which is anywhere near good as the MotoGP. The last one they produced is years old."

Despite the setback, the 2003 World Superbikes champion is still confident of being a hit -- especially after some impressive performances in pre-season testing.

Hodgson has set up camp at Laguna Beach in California for the next five months and is looking forward to his new challenge.

"Things are going very well at the moment," said the former British champion who was third fastest in qualifying toda in Daytona.

"I was able to test three times including twice in the States, during the off-season and everything has been very promising."

Hodgson makes his first competitive visit to the Daytona International Speedway for the's 15-lap race on the factory Ducati 999 and he is confident that he can help end the dominance of current champion, Suzuki rider Matt Mladin.

He said: "I like the way the Ducati 999 is handling and making power. I'm looking forward to racing in America against some very tough competition this year.

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And if he gets a podium finish on the testing Daytona circuit he will be delighted.

"I just want to get back on the bike and I am really looking forward to Daytona. If I can finish in the top three, I'll be happy."