THE Fogarty Factor is hard to escape at Assen.

Having won here 12 times out of his 16 races there, the TT circuit in the north of Holland has decided to honour his achievements.

So Fogarty will receive a special award to commemorate his success after riding a demonstration lap between races on Sunday.

And he will be greeted by tens of thousands of British fans, who make the pilgrimage to this Mecca of road racing.

At the height of Foggymania an estimated 60,000 crossed the Channel to witness the maestro in action.

But, while Fogarty is no longer able to mix it with the best of the World Superbike riders, his influence lives on.

This year eight extra ferries have been laid on to cope with the demand from the British public, now keen to see whether Fogarty's former team-mate and near neighbour, Neil Hodgson, can step into his shoes.

An immediate answer this weekend might well be delayed by the new man of the moment - Ruben Xaus - the man pinpointed by Ducati to race under the guiding hand of their ambassador.

Fogarty was straight on the phone after the young Spaniard claimed his first win of his career at Oschersleben last weekend. And he might be in dishing out more praise after Xaus was fastest in both session of the opening day of the penultimate round here yesterday.

Fogarty said: "I am so pleased for him. I think it must be down to all the stick that I have been giving him during the season - telling him that he is too slow.

"I have been saying that he could win races if they found a front tyre to suit his style of riding. He's a big guy and he puts a lot of pressure on the front. What he's had this year hasn't been good enough."

There have been times this season, when Hodgson's one-year old machinery has not been good enough.

But, before he hears the options available for next season on Sunday night, there was time for more misfortune, when a gearbox problem robbed him of 20 minutes rare dry qualifying time between showers.

Having managed to post the third fastest time of the morning, he could only finish seventh in the afternoon, three places behind team-mate James Toseland. Yesterday's World Superbike qualifying times: 1 Ruben Xaus, Spain (Ducati) 2m 02.409s, 2 Troy Corser, Australia (Aprilia) 2m 03.216s, 3 Troy Bayliss, Australia (Ducati) 2m 03.329s, 4 James Toseland, GB (Ducati) 2m 04.035s, 5 Akira Yanagawa, Japan (Kawasaki) 2m 04.124s, 6 Gregorio Lavilla, Spain (Kawasaki) 2m 04.375s, 7 Neil Hodgson, GB (Ducati) 2m 04.407s, 8 Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) 2m 04.431s, 9 Colin Edwards, USA (Castrol Honda) 2m 04.447s, 10 Regis Laconi, France (Aprilia) 2m 04.593s.