Hopkins hints at potential before withdrawal

John Hopkins has apologised for being unable to take to the grid for the second World Superbike Championship outing at Donington Park, despite giving a glimpse at his potential with a run to eighth in the first race.

Hopkins made his first race appearance since his World Superbike debut with the Stiggy Honda team at Valencia at Donington Park, the American putting in a fine ride to finish eighth having started 13th on the grid.

However, despite the strong finish – which marked Stiggy Honda's best combined result of the season -, Hopkins would not make it back out onto track for the second race as pain from his injuries began to surface again.

“First of all I want to apologise to the team and sponsors for not being able to ride the second race today.

“I got off the line really good in the first race but just poked around on the first lap and was not as aggressive as I normally am. But as the adrenaline kicked in I picked my way up to gain as many positions as possible.

“Halfway the race the pain kicked in and I struggled to move on the bike. From the whole of turn one to the end of the straight I just had to sit still on the bike and not put any pressure on my left leg. It is a good result for the condition I was in today.

“I have five days of testing coming up now and I am just really happy to be having fun on a motorcycle again. Even though I was in a lot of pain today, it was the best race I have had in the last two years. I have a lot of fun on the bike again, and that's when you start getting faster."