John Hopkins start to the 2012 season will begin with an uphill battle to recover from the broken hand bone he suffered earlier today during World Superbike’s first day of private testing at Phillip Island and as a result, with all probability will have to skip the season’s opening round and try to return for Imola that takes place April 1st.

“This feels so devastating because I was feeling really comfortable on the bike right from the start. I was running the 2011spec bike, with just small mods to the engine and the new Yoshimura exhaust, and hadn’t even got on the full 2012 bike yet. But I felt that the GSX-R had already been improved in the areas it needed to be,” said Hopkins. “The track conditions were not the best and we started the day a bit late because there were some damp patches around from the overnight rain. Having said that, it wasn’t the damp that caused the crash. I was on a used tyre and probably on the last lap before pulling in. I exited turn one and might have been just a little bit too hot for the condition of the tyre going into turn two, when suddenly the rear came round even before I got on the brakes. I was spat off and unfortunately came down on my right hand – yeah, the same one that is missing a bit of finger. The X-rays show that I have fractured a bone in the base of the hand, near what’s left of my fourth finger. I will fly home tomorrow and see my hand surgeon, Doctor Chao, and we’ll decide what has to be done. I would say that my chances of racing at Phillip Island next week are very slim, but the important thing is to get the hand sorted correctly and be completely right before I race. It may be better to miss Phillip Island and then use the six weeks or so before Imola to get back to 100% - we’ll see. I want to say thanks to the Crescent Fixi team for all their efforts and sorry to Suzuki and all the team’s sponsors – we’ll be back and fighting for the podium soon ”

Continue reading: John Hopkins talks about Phillip Island testing crash

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Almost all the World Superbike teams (except for Honda) are currently testing at Phillip Island as the 2012 season kicks off at the end of the month, but Crescent Fixi Suzuki rider John Hopkins who just returned to action after his recent right ring finger amputation crashed earlier in the day and has broken a bone in his right hand.

“Well I’m absolutely devastated to announce that after a high speed crash I’ve broke a bone in my R/ hand! Severity is yet to be determined. Unfortunately I’ll be having to fly home tomorrow to be fully checked out by my “hand surgeon” and then make a plan from there,” tweeted Hopkins.

More news when we get it.

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John Hopkins MotoGP free practice crash at Brno last August has ultimately cost him his ring finger. The Crescent Suzuki rider who has suffered through six surgeries and months of rehab to cure the damaged finger had to capitulate and have the finger amputated.

Hopkins informed fans of the surgery via his Twitter account saying, “Well after 6 surgeries & Thousands of $’s spent on Rehab etc its a shame it had to come to this. Good news is that it already feels better than it has for months & I’ll be ready to race in Phillip Island for Rnd. 1 ! No motivation lost !”

The World Superbike season opener kicks off February 26th at Phillip Island.

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Crescent Suzuki with newly signed Leon Camier will be testing for three days at Portimao starting next Monday. This will be Camier’s first test on the GSX-R1000 in preparation for the team’s World Superbike debut in 2012.

Unfortunately John Hopkins will not be present as he’s still recovering from his recent finger surgery following the massive infection that sent him back into the operating room. Hopkins will be replaced newly crowned British Supersport Champion Alastair Seeley.

The team will have a vast amount of items to go through during the test, including their current Suzuki engines as well as new Yoshimura partner’s engines and the electronics package.

Camier said, “I’m very excited to get out on the bike. There is a lot to test on the Crescent Suzuki and I’ll be getting to know the team. My focus will initially not be solely on lap times; at the minute it’s more about getting comfortable with the bike and having a good platform for the next test.” while Seeley commented, “I’m really excited about testing with Crescent Suzuki. It’s always interesting to see how things work with another team, plus it will be great to be back on a Superbike after a year in a different class.”

Continue reading: Leon Camier to test Crescent Suzuki at Portimao

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John Hopkins more or less knew he would be riding a Suzuki next season, but he didn’t know in which championship series, but the decision was made for him by the Hamamatsu manufacturer announced yesterday that they would ‘temporarily suspend’ (does anyone believe it they’ll be back?) their MotoGP activities for the next two seasons.

With Suzuki off the MotoGP grid, Hopkins has made the wise choice of renewing with Crescent Suzuki who is switching from British Superbikes to World Superbikes in 2012.

The Anglo American rider impressed not only in BSB, where he fell short by just two points in winning the title, while still recovering from a finger injury picked up during his MotoGP wildcard appearance at Brno. The same injury is still causing him big problems and warranted further surgery earlier this month after a massive infection set in.

Continue reading: John Hopkins to ride for Crescent Suzuki in World Superbikes

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John Hopkins hand injury that he sustained during the Brno GP is still giving him some big problems. The American rider tweeted that he had to undergo emergency surgery yesterday on his finger after a severe infection set in causing swelling and pain.

Hopkins will have to take massive doses of antibiotics and the infection should clear up in about three weeks time and hopefully will know by then if this highly popular rider be riding in MotoGP or in World Superbikes next season.

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John Hopkins has been forced to withdraw from the rest of this Sepang GP weekend. The American rider has suffered a relapse of the same hand injury that ruled him out of his wildcard appearance at Brno last August.

At Brno, the Anglo-American rider fractured the middle finger of his right hand and had to undergo surgery to plate it, he recovered enough to take part in the last rounds of British Superbike season where he finished second overall in the standings, however after taking part in yesterday’s practice sessions, he aggravated the injury which prompted him to pullout from the rest of the weekend.

“I knew my hand was sore after yesterday afternoon, because it was hurting when I was riding. It is definitely a lot more painful riding a MotoGP bike than it was the British Superbike, mainly due to the immense braking forces on the GSV-R. I woke up just before six this morning and I had quite a bit of pain so I tried to loosen it up and bend it, but that wasn’t an option. The screws and the plates in the finger have come apart and there’s just no movement in the knuckle at all, so I cannot bend the finger. If I get any further damage to the injury it could result in amputation and I certainly don’t want that! He is optimistic that the problem can be resolved in time and will not become a recurrent issue. My doctor is totally confident that he can fix it, but I just haven’t been able to rest it and give it the proper time needed to repair it over the last six weeks. I thought it would be fine to ride this weekend and had every hope of it working, but I didn’t expect the amount of force that goes into riding a GP bike would cause such a problem. It’s heartbreaking and I can’t express my disappointment. It’s such a shame and I couldn’t be more upset, but the priority now is to get it fixed and get myself ready for the 2012 season.”

Hopkins is on LCR Honda’s 2012 riders short list, as well as Crescent Suzuki’s who will debut in World Superbikes next season.

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After finishing second in this year’s British Superbike Championship, Crescent Suzuki has decided to make the jump to the big leagues and will be contesting in the 2012 World Superbike Championship.

The British based team owned by MotoGP’s Rizla Suzuki’s manager John Denning and run by Jack Valentine has made numerous wild card appearances in World Superbikes, their latest was at this year’s Silverstone round where John Hopkins grabbed the pole position and finished 5th and 7th in the two races.

The Anglo-American rider who lost the title in his rookie year in the BSB Championship by just two points, is on the top of Crescent Suzuki’s shopping list, but Hopkins wants to make a return to MotoGP and is still waiting on a decision by LCR Honda’s team manager Lucio Cecchinello and Hopkins might get it this weekend at Sepang, as he’s wildcarding for the Rizla Suzuki team.

Press release after the jump.

Continue reading: Crescent Suzuki to join World Superbikes in 2012

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John Hopkins has made no secret that after cleaning up his act, he wants to return to the international racing scene, and the Anglo-American rider’s last wildcard appearance in MotoGP at Brno in August, which unfortunately ended up with him withdrawing after fracturing his hand during practice, and wanting another shot at riding the GSX-R.

According to British website MCN.com Rizla Suzuki will be giving it to him, as he’ll be competing as a wildcard at the Sepang GP, October 23rd.

On the British Superbike homefront, Hopkins still retains the lead in championship after Sunday’s round 11 at Silverstone, which saw him take 1st in race 1 and a 3rd in race 2. The Samsung Crescent rider has an eight point advantage over Swan Yamaha’s Tommy Hill going into the final race of season at Brands Hatch.

Check out the video highlights of the BSB Silverstone round after the jump.

Continue reading: John Hopkins to get another MotoGP wildcard ride

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John Hopkins won both British Superbike races at Donington Park earlier this month, despite still being in recovery mode after the surgery that he had to fix the hand injury he picked up during his MotoGP wildcard ride at Brno last month.

However the Anglo-American rider, who is rumored to make a comeback to international racing in either MotoGP or World Superbikes, wasn’t satisfied with the healing process and the fact he still had pain in his finger decided to undergo a further check-up that revealed that he had areas still fractured in his middle finger and had to undergo surgery to have it micro-plated and screwed.

Hopkins said: “There was a lot of pain in my fingers at Donington Park, and I knew it wasn’t right and in fact I was very worried I’d aggravated the injury. So I rushed back to see my surgeon on the Monday. The x-rays showed that my middle finger wasn’t locating properly in the second knuckle. Fortunately the bone area that had previously been crushed was now nicely healed and so my surgeon was able to put in screws and plates so as to stabilize the finger. I could feel straight away that the finger was much stronger and it’s improved every day since. I’m now very confident that I’ll be able to ride at near-enough one hundred percent at Silverstone next weekend.”

The next Showdown will be at Silverstone this upcoming weekend, where Hopkins scored the pole position in his wildcard appearance in the World Superbike round and finished 5th and 7th for his Samsung Crescent Suzuki team.

Check out the video highlights of the Donington Park round, where Hopkins won both races despite his injury.

Continue reading: John Hopkins undergoes more surgery ahead of BSB Silverstone round

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John Hopkins second return appearance in MotoGP at Brno was cut short after he sustained a hand injury during a wet third free practice, leaving the Anglo American rider wanting another chance to ride for his old Rizla Suzuki team and show off what he can do before the end of this 2011 season.

Hopkins came back from his injury to win both British Superbike races at Donington Park on Sunday in the first Showdown which put him ahead of Tommy Hill by three points in the standings, and wants a full-time ride in MotoGP next season and Lucio Cecchinello of LCR Honda admitted he’s highly interested in picking up Hopkins, especially if his ongoing talks with Andrea Dovizioso should fall through.

With just two round left in British Superbike championship (Silverstone and Brands Hatch), Hopkins could easily take part in at least one of the last three rounds of the MotoGP championship.

Speaking to mcn.com he said, “There are still three races after the BSB championship and I have every intention of doing all I can to get out there.”

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As expected John Hopkins will be skipping this weekend’s 9th round of the British Superbike round at Cadwell Park.

The Anglo-American rider is still recovering from the finger injuries and the subsequent surgery he had to undergo after his crash during MotoGP’s free practice at Brno where he was riding as a wildcard for Rizla Suzuki.

Samsung Crescent Racing Team Manager Jack Valentine said:

“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. 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 that 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.

Hopkins has been linked to a return in MotoGP next season, either with Rizla Suzuki or as Italian media is reporting with LCR Honda.

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