John Hopkins - Photo Credit: Suzuki Racing
John Hopkins can't wait to showcase his talent when he returns to MotoGP this weekend with Rizla Suzuki. The American will be riding for the first time since agonizingly missing out on the British Superbike title at Brands Hatch and hopes his performance in Malaysia will lead to a full-time return next year.
Hopkins dislocated a finger last time he appeared in MotoGP at Brno and although the injury still affects him today, he won't let it slow him down this weekend.
“I'm heading to Sepang with only MotoGP on my mind! When I went to Brno I was still in the middle of the BSB season and that was my main priority, but now I am totally focused on doing the best I can for Rizla Suzuki, the team and myself. I want to get back into MotoGP full-time and I cannot wait to get on the bike and show what I can do. I've seen Ãlvaro's performances in recent races and the GSV-R looks like a great piece of kit now, it seems like the factory and the crew have done a good job and I just can't wait to get on it. My finger is still sore, but that won't hold me back, I'm so happy to be back here and it's where I want to stay!”
With Hopkins riding a second GSV-R, Alvaro Bautista will have a teammate challenging him this weekend and the Spaniard is hoping to make up for the disappointment of the last two races when he crashed out of strong positions.
“We need to put the result of last Sunday firmly behind us and concentrate on all the positives we had there. The bike worked really well all weekend on a track that has been difficult for us and if we can continue like that in Malaysia we will be very pleased. We had a good race at Sepang last year and we have some good references from the winter tests so I expect to be competitive. If the luck is finally with us we will have a result that we all deserve, after all the hard work we have put in and the progress we have made.”
