Hopkins to miss Cadwell round
Added on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor
Hopkins to miss Cadwell round
John Hopkins will not race at Cadwell Park this weekend after failing to regain fitness following his MotoGP crash at Brno.
Hopkins went under the knife last week following a crash at Brno during a wildcard MotoGP ride and had been advised not to ride in the British Superbike Championship round this weekend at Cadwell.
The dislocation and break injury to his right third finger and fractures to his first and second fingers are healing well but doctors advise the injuries need longer to heal. Hopkins, who has already secured a showdown place, will not be replaced this weekend, leaving Jon Kirkham as Samsung Suzuki’s only entry.
“Unfortunately Hopper’s hand is not healed enough to race this weekend, and while this is disappointing to us and the fans it is the right decision when we consider the upcoming Showdown phase of the championship,” said team manager Jack Valentine.
“Hopper’s been in daily contact as he’s undergone intensive laser treatment and hyperbaric chamber sessions. He’s explained the external pins are expected to be removed on Wednesday, but of course the weekend is too soon after th at for his hand to be sufficiently healed.
“We will, we suspect, lose a few podium points to our rivals in the Showdown, but to race a superbike at a track such as this when you don’t have 100% strength in your throttle and brake hand is simply too dangerous both to the rider and his competitors and would only stand to slow Hopper’s recovery from the injury.
“The team will nonetheless be at very near full-strength as we look forward to giving Jon Kirkham additional resources for the weekend. He’ll have two crew chiefs working for him as well as his regular crew of mechanics and we hope this will fast track his set-up, allowing him to get back to where he belongs, at the front of the field.”
