John Hopkins

John "Hopper" Hopkins (born May 22, 1983) is an American former motorcycle road racer. He recently competed in the British Superbike Championship aboard a Ducati 1199 Panigale for Moto Rapido Racing.

Early life Hopkins was born to parents from Acton. He began riding Motocross bikes as a child and won his first race on a MiniBike in 1986, switching to road racing full-time in 1999. Hopkins proposed to his girlfriend Ashleigh in the summer of 2007 on her 21st birthday. They married in Las Vegas in December 2007.

Hopkins is featured in the 2003 documentary film, Faster, and the film The Doctor, the Tornado and the Kentucky Kid (2006).

In a 2007 interview, Hopkins was questioned about being regarded as Anglo-American, with the interviewer commenting: "A lot of people don't understand your being British. As I understand it, your entire family moved over here from England, and you were raised here as a British family in America".

Career MotoGP World Championship 2002 The 2002 season saw Hopkins join the WCM RedBull Yamaha team alongside multiple race winner Garry McCoy. The team was using Yamaha YZR500 motorcycles on lease from Yamaha. Overall the YZR500 was considered to be uncompetitive that year, due to a change in the regulations allowing 990 cc four-stroke motorcycles to race against 500 cc two-stroke motorcycles. Although the two-strokes held (on average) a 10 kg weight advantage over the four-strokes, they had between 30 and 50 less hp depending on the engine configuration used for the racetrack. Hopkins finished the season ranked 15th, with 58 points, which put him 25 points clear of his teammate McCoy.

2003 In 2003, Hopkins joined the Suzuki factory racing team. This year he would ride a 990 cc V4 four-stroke. In 2003 John was teamed with 2000 500cc world champion Kenny Roberts, Jr. Although he was racing a four-stroke this year, the results did not seem to come as one would have expected. There are many theories for this, including the Suzuki's lack of power and its tendency to wear out tires faster than other bikes. This year also saw Hopkins involved in a turn 1 crash at the Pacific Grand Prix at Motegi; he was accused of causing this crash, and was suspended for one race. This suspension resulted in a DNS (did not start) at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Also noteworthy for the 2003 season was the crash in Italy where Kenny Roberts, Jr.'s GSV-R Suzuki suffered an engine management failure and the bike launched into Hopkins, putting both GSV-R's out of the race. At the end of the season, Hopkins finished in 17th place with 29 points. This finish put him 2 places and 7 points ahead of his teammate Kenny Roberts, Jr.

2004 The technology and technical advancement of the GSV-R was further developed in 2004. Most of the refinements took place in the engine management package, making the bike easier to ride. Towards the end of the year, the GSV-R was showing clear improvements, allowing Hopkins to move up the standings. Unfortunately it also saw several mechanical failures, which effectively undid the hard work to develop the motorcycle. Having qualified on the front row at Motegi, he was eliminated in a first-corner crash. Overall, he finished 16th.

2005

Hopkins continued with Suzuki in 2005, as the team showed promising signs after the arrival of Paul Denning as team boss following Denning's success with Suzuki's British Superbike team. Hopkins briefly led at Donington, but his best result was a 5th place at Motegi, and he was 14th overall. Qualifying results were often better than race results, largely due to Bridgestone tires being better suited to short runs.

2006 Hopkins remained at Suzuki, now backed by Rizla, where he was joined by new teammate Chris Vermeulen. He enjoyed his best season yet. Hopkins finished the 2006 season in 10th place overall with 116 points. Hopkins had one pole position this season, at Assen. His best finishes were in China and in Catalunya, where he finished fourth.

2007 Continuing with Rizla Suzuki, Hopkins set near-lap-record times aboard the new 800 cc motorcycle, and was labeled the dark horse by Colin Edwards. On February 15, 2007, he fractured his wrist after falling while testing at the Jerez circuit in Spain, but returned for the start of the season.

Hopkins completed his first MotoGP podium finish at the Shanghai circuit in China, finishing in third place – 3.6 seconds behind Valentino Rossi but 7.6 seconds ahead of 2006 event winner Dani Pedrosa. He finished as fourth overall in the 2007 season, two places ahead of Vermeulen and one behind Rossi.

2008 For 2008, Hopkins joined Kawasaki Racing Team. Explaining the decision, Rizla Suzuki boss Paul Denning suggested that "There are reasons for that other than performance," highlighting commercial concerns in particular. Hopkins crashed heavily at Assen, fracturing his ankle.

Prior to 2009 season, Kawasaki made the decision to halt MotoGP racing activities because of the global economic crisis, meaning that Hopkins would not have a ride for the 2009 season.

2011 Hopkins returned to MotoGP in the Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix in April 2011 as a temporary replacement for Álvaro Bautista in the Suzuki team.

Superbike World Championship 2009 After the Kawasaki team pulled out of MotoGP, Hopkins secured a mid season ride on the Stiggy Racing Honda replacing Roberto Rolfo. Hopkins scored points during his first round in Valencia. At the next round in Assen, Hopkins would fall and dislocate his hip, Hopkins then wouldn't return until San Marino where he couldn't complete the weekend's racing. After a career best finish in the first race at Donington, Hopkins, who was still hurt, couldn't complete the second race. Following 2 retirements at the Brno round, Hopkins would suffer a horror crash at the Nürburgring, being run over after he was taken out by Makoto Tamada and Broc Parkes, Hopkins was unconscious for ten minutes but luckily sustained no serious injuries. The Stiggy Honda team then withdrew from the World Superbike paddock leaving Hopkins once again without a ride for 2010.

2011 In 2011, Hopkins rode his Samsung Crescent Suzuki at the Silverstone World Superbike round. Hopkins was fast from the start being fastest in free practice sessions, capturing his first Superbike World Championship pole position with a new circuit record lap.

2012 In January 2012, Hopkins had his right ring-finger amputated just above the first joint up from the knuckle.

Hopkins missed the first race of the season after a testing crash, ironically breaking the knuckle below the stump from the finger he had chopped off at the start of the year.

2013 In October 2012, Hopkins announced that he would be taking the 2013 season off to recover from his injuries. In April 2013, Hopkins had hip replacement surgery following a heavy crash at Monza, but announced at the Le Mans MotoGP event in May that he would be testing again within two months.

AMA Superbike Championship 2010 After one season in SBK, Hopkins returned to United States racing - he was considered a superstar in the AMA. He raced for the M4 Monster Suzuki team.

British Superbike Championship 2011 For the 2011 season, Hopkins raced in the British Superbike Championship. He rode for the Crescent Suzuki team. At Oulton Park, he won the second race making history, being the first American to win a British Superbike race. Hopkins made history yet again at the new Snetterton 300 where he won the first British Superbike race.

Hopkins came within 0.006 seconds of winning the title, losing out to Tommy Hill on the last lap of the final round at Brands Hatch.

2014 On October 29, 2013, it was announced that Hopkins, after taking a year out to recover from multiple injuries, would return to the British Superbike Championship for 2014 having signed to ride for Tyco Suzuki.

2015 In July 2015; Hopkins joined the MCE British Superbike Championship, replacing Jakub Smrz for the Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati. His first race took place at Brands Hatch (Round 6) where he placed 6th in Race 1 and had a DNF in Race 2.

Life after racing Coaching career

After injuries prevented Hopkins from a comeback in racing he was offered a position as the riders' coach and race director for the American Racing team in Moto2 for the 2020 season.

Hopkins arrival had an immediate impact upon American Racing's Joe Roberts, who at the time was the only American racing in any motorcycle road racing world championship. Roberts would take his first two pole positions, his first podium finish, and would be a consistent top ten finisher under Hopkins' tutelage. Hopkins nearly moved back to up to MotoGP when Roberts was in negotiations with Aprilia, with Aprilia making a concession to allow Hopkins to remain Roberts' rider coach should Roberts move up to MotoGP. Roberts ultimately declined the move to MotoGP and Hopkins stayed with American Racing.

Hopkins was the riders' coach for series veteran Marcos Ramirez and American Cameron Beaubier during his Moto2 stint.

Autobiography Hopkins' autobiography Leathered was released in September 2021.

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season SeasonClassMotorcycleTeamNumberRaceWinPodiumPoleFLapPtsPlcdWCh 2002 MotoGP Yamaha YZR500 Red Bull Yamaha WCM 21 15 0 0 0 0 58 15th – 2003 MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R Suzuki Grand Prix Team 21 14 0 0 0 0 29 17th – 2004 MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R Team Suzuki MotoGP 21 15 0 0 0 0 45 16th – 2005 MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R Team Suzuki MotoGP 21 17 0 0 0 0 63 14th – 2006 MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 21 17 0 0 1 0 116 10th – 2007 MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 21 18 0 4 0 2 189 4th – 2008 MotoGP Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR Kawasaki Racing Team 21 15 0 0 0 0 57 16th – MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 21 1 0 0 0 0 6 21st – Total 112 0 4 1 2 563 0

By class

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Pts 2002 MotoGP Yamaha JPN12 RSA13 SPA14 FRA11 ITA12 CAT10 NED7 GBR8 GER CZERet POR8 BRA14 PAC14 MAL18 AUS16 VAL11 15th 58 2003 MotoGP Suzuki JPN13 RSA13 SPA7 FRARet ITARet CAT15 NED15 GBR11 GERRet CZE17 POR18 BRA PACRet MAL AUS12 VAL13 17th 29 2004 MotoGP Suzuki RSA13 SPA15 FRARet ITA CATRet NED14 BRA15 GER9 GBR8 CZERet POR6 JPNRet QAT8 MALRet AUS15 VAL12 16th 45 2005 MotoGP Suzuki SPA14 PORRet CHN7 FRA16 ITA11 CATRet NED14 USA8 GBR11 GERDNS CZE14 JPN5 MAL9 QAT17 AUS10 TUR15 VAL13 14th 63 2006 MotoGP Suzuki SPA9 QATRet TUR17 CHN4 FRA15 ITA10 CAT4 NED6 GBR8 GER10 USA6 CZE7 MAL6 AUS12 JPN12 POR6 VAL11 10th 116 2007 MotoGP Suzuki QAT4 SPA19 TUR6 CHN3 FRA7 ITA5 CAT4 GBR5 NED5 GER7 USA15 CZE2 RSM3 POR6 JPN10 AUS7 MAL8 VAL3 4th 189 2008 MotoGP Kawasaki QAT12 SPA7 POR5 CHN14 FRARet ITARet CAT10 GBRRet NEDDNS GER USA CZE11 RSM14 INP14 JPN10 AUS13 MAL11 VAL14 16th 57 MotoGP Suzuki QAT SPA10 POR FRA CAT GBR NED ITA GER USA CZEDNS INP RSM ARA JPN AUS MALC VAL 21st 6

Superbike World Championship Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 2009 Honda AUS AUS QAT QAT SPA11 SPA12 NED NED ITA ITA RSA RSA USA USA SMRDNS SMRDNS GBR8 GBRDNS CZERet CZERet GERRet GERDNS ITA ITA FRA FRA POR POR 23rd 17 2011 Suzuki AUS AUS EUR EUR NED NED ITA ITA USA USA SMR SMR SPA SPA CZE CZE GBR5 GBR7 GER GER ITA ITA FRA FRA POR POR 19th 20 2012 Suzuki AUS AUS ITA13 ITARet NEDRet NED11 ITAC ITADNS EUR EUR USARet USA16 SMR17 SMR14 SPA15 SPARet CZE15 CZE14 GBRRet GBR10 RUS9 RUS12 GER13 GER13 POR12 POR11 FRADNS FRADNS 19th 44

AMA Superbike Championship Races by year (key) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos Pts Ref R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 2010 Suzuki DAYDNS DAYRet FON7 FON5 RAT5 RAT5 INF INF RAM RAM M-O M-O LAG VIR15 VIRDNS N-J5 N-J3 BAR3 BAR2 10th 151

British Superbike Championship Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts Ref R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 2011 Suzuki BHI17 BHI5 OUL2 OUL1 CRO2 CRO3 THR4 THR3 KNO2 KNORet SNE1 SNE3 OULRet OULC BHGP4 BHGP3 BHGP2 CAD CAD CAD DON1 DON1 SIL1 SIL3 BHGP3 BHGP12 BHGP3 2nd 645

Year Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 2014 Suzuki BHI5 BHI11 OULRet OUL9 SNE9 SNE7 KNO9 KNO11 BHGP9 BHGP10 THR8 THR8 OUL6 OULRet OULRet CAD13 CADDNS DONRet DON9 ASSRet ASS5 SILRet SILDNS BHGPRet BHGP10 BHGP8 10th 125

Year Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 2015 Suzuki DON DON BHI BHI OUL OUL SNE SNE KNO KNO BHGP6 BHGPRet THRRet THRRet CAD16 CADRet OULRet OULRet OULRet ASS5 ASS11 SIL4 SILRet BHGP3 BHGP4 BHGP8 17th 76 Yamaha SIL SIL OUL OUL BHI BHI KNO KNO SNE SNE THR THR BHGP BHGP CAD CAD OUL OUL OUL DON DON ASS ASS BHGP BHGP BHGP 14th 105 Ducati DONRet DON13 BHI13 BHI9 OUL14 OUL9 KNO7 KNO17 SNE8 SNE5 BHGP9 BHGP11 THR9 THRRet CADDNS CADDNS SIL3 SIL10 SILRet OUL2 OULRet ASS9 ASS12 BHGPDNS BHGPDNS BHGPDNS 15th 122

1. – Hopkins was not entered for the Cadwell race due to an injury he sustained during his wildcard ride for Suzuki at the MotoGP event in Brno.

2. – Hopkins qualified for "The Showdown" part of the BSB season, thus before the Donington Park round he was awarded 500 points plus the podium credits he had gained throughout the season. Podium credits are given to anyone finishing 1st, 2nd or 3rd, with 3,2 and 1 points awarded respectively.