Neil Hodgson could make a sensational return to the British Superbike Championship next year after Honda pulled the plug on his current team.

The Burnley-born racer was left looking for a new job this week after being told that his Corona Extra team was being axed from the America Championship.

Their decision, which was widely expected, leaves the popular double champion eying up a ride back home in 2010 – and he made no secret of his desire to finish his illustrious career in this country.

Hodgson made a surprise appearance in the BSB paddock at Croft earlier this month, meeting up with his former boss Colin Wright, who now runs the Airwaves Yamaha team.

“For the last seven or eight years I’ve had it in my mind to come back and finish my career in the British Superbike Championship,” said Hodgson, 35.

“The weather in America is great but I miss home.

“I always said I was never going to live full-time there, and although some people thought I’d turned my back on Britain, it was all about paying the mortgage – and I needed to earn a living.

“I’d really like to do what Niall Mackenzie did, and come back and have two or three really strong seasons.

“I’ve been racing for 19 years and I've only spent the 1991/2 and 1999/2000 seasons here in the UK. I’ve come back to have a talk to a few people and take a look at the BSB paddock, but there’s nothing lined up yet.”

Championship organisers would be delighted to see the charismatic racer back on home ground, Hodgson won the 2000 British title after an epic season-long battle with Chris Walker, widely regarded as one of the best in living memory, with the pair thrilling capacity crowds at every meeting.

Hodgson’s employer, Honda America, joined Ducati in pulling out of next year’s AMA series, stating that his Corona Extra team “did not meet their racing goals and objectives.”

Hodgson has to return to America next week for further surgery on his shoulder, damaged in a motocross accident earlier in the year, and will then try to tie up a deal for 2010.