CARL Fogarty is menacingly poised in the rear-view mirror of Castrol Honda team-mate Aaron Slight in the World Superbikes Championship race.

And in tomorrow's sixth round at Laguna Seca, the halfway point of the season, the Blackburn ace aims to close the gap on Slight and the only other title contender, Troy Corser, as he steps up his bid for a third successive world crown.

But Foggy will be aiming to improve on a disappointing 10th in yesterday's practice session.

"I'm struggling," admitted the Blackburn star.

"It's just like last year when I could never feel comfortable on the Ducati here.

"But I have another day to go."

The trio have broken away from the rest of the riders after five rounds of turbo-charged action.

Now Fogarty is determined to psychologically gain the upper hand over his sole remaining title rivals with two good finishes in the United States.

"So much of this is in the mind and they will both be aware of my presence as the title race gathers pace," said the 30-year-old.

"My experience over the last two years is very significant.

"Success breeds success and I'm hungry for more.

"The bike (a Honda RC45) is performing much better now than at the start of the season.

"And I'm a lot more confident on it - I feel more in control.

"I'm quite confident of competing well in tomorrow's two races.

"Hopefully, I will maintain my momentum with Brands Hatch coming up in a fortnight's time."

Hoping to improve on a patchy first season in Superbikes is Burnley's Neil Hodgson, who claimed Fogarty's place on the Ducati team after the world champion's departure.

Hodgson finished fifth in practice and is beginning to emerge as a real contender.

He crashed in the Donington round and broke some bones, but is adamant that he will go all out tomorrow to chase vital championship points.

"I may have lost some of my confidence after Donington but none of my nerve," he declared.

"In practice, all season, the bike has been performing well and I've recorded some fast laps.

"It's just a case of producing that throughout a complete race."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.