Hopkins seventh at a sweltering Sachsenring
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins battled his way to
seventh place at a blisteringly hot German Grand  Prix
today.
Hopkins made a good start and was in touch with the lead
pack in the early part of the race. He looked comfortable
in fifth, but as track temperatures rose to a high of 55°C,
grip became an issue and he found himself involved in a battle
with world championship leader Casey Stoner and Marco Melandri.
Hopkins fought all the way to the chequered flag but was just
beaten by the two other riders and crossed the line in seventh
to earn him nine valuable points in the championship.
Chris Vermeulen had the worst possible start to today’s
30-lap race. Due to a small mechanical error his bike edged
forward on the start-line and he incurred a jump-start penalty.
Vermeulen had to enter the pit-lane and then re-join the race,
but the ride through penalty cost Vermeulen valuable places
and he now found himself in last position. The Australian
racer set about chasing down the riders in front of him and
although he too suffered with grip issues he brought his Suzuki
GSV-R home safely in 11th place.
Today’s race was watched by 101,048 fans at trackside
as they baked in the beautiful sunshine. Honda’s Dani
Pedrosa took victory, with Stoner retaining his championship
lead.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP has now just a week before it is in action
again, as the MotoGP circus rolls out across the Atlantic
for the American Grand Prix at Laguna Seca in California on
Sunday 22nd July.
John Hopkins:
“I got a good start and after the first turn battle
for positions I got away clear and with the front guys. I
got into a good rhythm, but made a couple of mistakes and
lost a bit of ground to the riders in front of me. I kept
my head down and tried to ride as smoothly and efficiently
as I could while still doing the lap times, because I knew
it was going to be a hard, long and hot race. With about seven
laps to go we ran into some tyre problems and we were really
struggling for edge grip – especially on the left-handers.
I then got into a battle with Melandri and Stoner and I’ve
got to say it was the strangest race I’ve ever been
in - at the end, with the lack of rear grip - it was harder
than riding in the rain! I have extended my fourth place lead
a little bit and now I am looking forward to going to America
and giving it all I’ve got!”
Chris Vermeulen:
“I had a problem with the clutch on the start-line
and I couldn’t hold the bike still when it was in gear.
It was creeping forward and I went later than everyone so
I wouldn’t get a jump start, but there was nothing I
could do and I just edged over the line before the lights
changed. After the ride-through I just got my head down and
did the laps and tried to make up some places. It was very
difficult conditions out there for the tyres, but we managed
to get some decent enough points considering how the start
went. I am sure we can all learn from this experience and
now go on to Laguna and see if we can get the result this
time that we deserved last year!
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“It was not our best day at the office today, but in
a real race of attrition both the guys brought the bikes home
and we scored some points! Chris had a day to forget, with
a jump-start through no fault of his own, a ride-through penalty
and then running into the same sort of grip issues that most
of the Bridgestone riders suffered with today.
“John seemed to be able to fight in the front group,
but at the end was relegated to a very strange battle with
Casey and Marco, with all three of them clearly struggling
for grip.
“Rizla Suzuki has no complaints at all about the tyre
performance. Firstly a Bridgestone rider still finished on
the podium, and secondly after the performance gains this
season and the improvements they have given us I am sure they
will react to this in a very positive way, and we will be
looking for top results next weekend in America!”
Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland Race Classification:
1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 41’53.196: 2. Loris Capirossi
(Ducati) +13.166: 3. Nicky Hayden (Honda) +16.771: 4. Colin
Edwards (Yamaha) +18.299: 5. Caste Stoner (Ducati) +31.426:
7. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +33.395: 11. CHRIS VEMEULEN
(RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1’01.894:
World Championship Classification:
1. Stoner 196: 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 164: 3. Pedrosa
144: 4. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 103: 5. Marco Melandri
(Honda) 97: 6. CHRIS VEMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 93:
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