Hopkins recovers in time for Le Mans
Added on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
Hopkins passed fit despite heavy bruising
Kawasaki ‘s John Hopkins claims to have overcome the leg injury that he sustained in China and is looking forward to this week’s French Grand Prix.
The American sustained the injury after a collision with Alex de Angelis forced him off the track at the end of the main straight, causing Hopkins’ knee to strike the foot peg.
The 24-year-old suffered heavy bruising in the incident but has been passed fit by medical staff and is confident of putting in a strong performance on a circuit which many believe to suit his riding style.
“My leg is completely black and blue with bruising,” said Hopkins. “While it looks quite nasty it hasn’t caused me any problems and I’m confident it won’t be an issue on the bike.
Hopkins is also excited at the prospect of riding at Le Mans and believes that the Kawasaki setup will help him improve on the 7th place finish he achieved with Suzuki last season.
“I’m looking forward to Le Mans, as it’s a track that suits my riding style and it’s one that I like racing on.
“The track features a lot of hard braking, quick changes of direction and hard acceleration, and that’s exactly what the Ninja ZX-RR has been designed for. When you combine this with our Bridgestone tyres, which always seem to work well here, then I think we’re in a strong position going into this weekend.
“The only thing we need to watch out for is the weather, as it’s notoriously changeable at Le Mans, but wet or dry I’m confident that we can put in a strong performance in France.”
