HAVE you ever dreamt of having the fame and the attention that is lavished on England football captain David Beckham?

"You can keep it," said Burnley's Superbike star Neil Hodgson after the most hectic week of his season.

Ahead of tomorrow's British round of the World Superbike Championship at Silverstone Hodgson has had a little taste of the sort of attention Beckham is subjected to on a daily basis.

"I just don't like it," admitted the 28-year-old who has been the centre of attention in the build-up to the big races. "I know people don't believe me but I really don't want to be famous.

"At least I can put on my helmet and have a bit of anonymity because I really don't know how people like Beckham and Robbie Williams cope with the constant attention.

"In truth it is nice to have a little bit of it, like this week, with a lot of people wanting my autograph and my picture, but I would hate to have it all the time. Beckham can never turn it off.

"The exposure I have had this week is good for my profile, that of the team and of the sport but I can escape from it on Monday when it is all over."

The attention is all a long way from the little nine-year-old who followed in his father's tyre tracks and fell in love with all things with two wheels.

It all started with motocross in and around his home town and now sees him in a position to challenge for the World Superbike Championship.

"Those days seem like a different life," he said. "My dad Mark got me interested in racing and it has all taken off from there.

"Becoming the world champion remains my ambition and I do believe that I am getting closer and closer every season.

"This year I am closer than I have ever been and I will do as well as I can this season as I believe next year could be the one. I have not had one big jump, I have just developed over the years."

Of course as with every motor sport it may look like an individual event but it is very much a team effort.

Hodgson rides with Yorkshireman James Toseland and their HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing team has got 25 people working this weekend with both riders having two mechanics as well as a tyres man. But the key member of the team for Hodgson is his wife of six months Kathryn.

They got married at the Inn at Whitewell last November having been together for five ears and he explained: "It is brilliant to have her with me.

"She makes my job so much easier and the most important thing is that she gives me someone to whinge to.

"She does all my fetching and carrying and for the whole weekend she will do anything for me. I just have to repay her when it is over," he laughed.

Watching your new husband hurtle round a track at breathtaking speeds, possibly in terrible weather and with race rivals on all sides, might not be the most relaxing way to spend a Sunday but Hodgson knows his wife can cope.

"She is brilliant to be fair," he said. "Most of the wives are great because they know that although there is a danger element we are improving the safety all the time.

"Anyway, life is dangerous from the moment you are born. There are dangers you can get serious illnesses like cancer.

"Kathryn knows I am passionate about my sport but her priority is just to see me come home safe and sound, not to win. She wants me to come back in one piece and if I was to retire tomorrow it would not bother her."

Of course retiring will be the last thing on his mind as he lines up on the grid tomorrow. Having tasted victory in the last two seasons at the British round of the championship he is determined to make it a hat-trick.

"There is no doubt that I get that extra bit of adrenaline, it does give me a rush," he admitted. "Every time I put my leg over the bike there is more adrenaline in my blood, that is the way it feels.

"Sometimes when you are abroad it can take a couple of laps to get right into it but here it is straight away. The important thing is to use it to help you go faster, it can almost be worth a second a lap.

"When you see the crowd with all the flags, hear the klaxons and see all the orange T-shirts it is great. I have no doubt it helps."

Any such increase in speed would be enough to secure victory based on his performances in the last round at Monza earlier this month.

Only a controversial decision not to impose a ten second stop go penalty on championship leader Troy Bayliss denied Hodgson victory in the opening race of the weekend.

His rival missed out a chicane and the lack of a penalty still rankles with the Burnley ace.

"It did take me a couple of days to get over it and I felt even more angry after I had watched it on video," he said. "I definitely sulked for a bit because I am sure I was robbed.

"I lost some time by going over the kerb through the chicane but the other riders missed it out. That cost me the race.

"But on a positive note it was great to be up there competing and I was fully involved in a really good race."

That is the target for this weekend although he desperately wants to be standing on top of the podium for the 50,000 race fans and, especially, those who are close to him.

"All my family and friends are coming down from Burnley and the biggest problem for me is making sure that I get everyone a ticket," he said. "It is a bit of a headache."

For those who don't make it there will be coverage on BBC television tomorrow afternoon and Hodgson is delighted that the sport has made it on to terrestrial television.

"We had good coverage on Sky for a few years but tomorrow there will be on race recorded and one live and it is done increase the exposure of the sport and that has to be good," he said.

"I don't mind giving the interviews and being on the telly as it is good for my profile."

And so it is back to the fame game again with Hodgson acknowledging that if his dream of ruling the world comes true he will become even better known than he is now.

"Id still settle for being famous for the weekend," he smiled, clearly happy to leave the front and back pages free for Mr Posh.