Hodgson lands fast date with Miss GB.

Neil Hodgson will have a glamorous partner on the grid at Laguna Seca next month, following Team Ducati's decision to pair him with recently crowned Miss Great Britain Nicki Lane.

The Miss Great Britain 2003 competition took place at the exclusive club Tantra over the weekend, and was won by professional model, aerobics instructor, theatrical dancer and FastDates.com calendar model Lane, who dazzled the judges with stunning good looks and sparkling personality. History was also made as Lane, formerly Miss Great Britain 2001, became the first girl to ever win the title twice.

She was sponsored thoughout by FastDates.com motorsports calendars and website, whose sash she wore on stage during portions of the competition and when she was crowned at the end, having become familiar to American sportbike fans who would have seen her in the United States last summer where she was served as an official SBK World Superbike Fast Dates calendar model at the Laguna Seca WSBK round. While shooting for the calendar in the paddock with the top factory race bikes, Lane also served as the official Team Ducati Corse umbrella girl for Troy Bayliss - a role she will now fulfil for current points elader Hodgson.

"I'm so excited," she told FastDates.com after being crowned for the second time, "I am ecstatic - and it's a great plus for the FastDates.com calendars and all the faith director Jim Gianatsis has had in me.

"I'm taking every every opportunity to mention to the press that I'm the cover model on the 2004 SBK World Superbike Fast Dates calendar, and the great time I had serving as the Team Ducati Corse umbrella girl for Troy Bayliss at Laguna Seca last year. All things are looking good, and superbike racing is getting great world coverage from it all. I'm looking forward to coming back to California with FastDates.com in July I'll look forward to meeting everyone who was so nice to me last year."

Paolo Ciabatti, marketing director at Ducati Corse, has confirmed that the Fast Dates calendar models will again be the official Ducati Corse team umbrella girls on the Sunday of the Laguna meeting, and that Lane will serve as umbrella girl for 2003 champion-in-waiting Hodgson.

"We couldn't be more pleased to have FastDates.com be part of a such a world class championship winning combination," Ciabatti admitted.