Rizla Suzuki had announced that they would be testing at Valencia, however as most of us assumed, we though it would be Alvaro Bautista doing the test, instead we saw an impressive and immediately fast Randy de Puniet debut on the 2011 800cc machine, while Bautista and his manager were working on negotiations with Fausto Gresini, sponsor San Carlo and HRC.

Early this morning Rizla Suzuki officially announced they were parting ways with the Spaniard, who debuted in MotoGP and spent his first two years with the team.

Bautista is expected to debut on the Gresini Honda later today, while Suzuki has received an ultimatum that they have to comunicate their future racing plans in MotoGP by Friday.

“I am very sad to be leaving Suzuki after the two great years that I have had here. It has been a great team to work in and I have learnt a lot of things from everyone in the team. It was a fantastic experience working with an English/Japanese team and we have become like a big family, except we have never had any arguments and no-one falls out with each other! I want to thank everybody personally for the last two years, sometimes it has been difficult, but nobody ever gave up and I felt like I always had their full support and commitment. I don’t feel like I am leaving a team, but a group of friends that I hope I will know for a long time. I want to say a special thank-you to Tom, Paul, Ken san and Sahara san, and wish them and the rest of the team all the best for the future,” said Bautista.

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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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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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Rizla Suzuki’s Micron one off livery at the Misano GP was one of the best paint jobs we’ve seen so far this MotoGP season (David Delfin’s Repsol Honda design for Aragon was so crappy compared to this).

So Troy Lee Designs who created the livery for Suzuki, has released this short behind the scenes video to show the workmanship that went into producing this beautiful chrome coloured livery, and personally we’d love to see it again, and we think that this livery would be even more stunning under the lights at the Losail race track in Qatar.

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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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Rizla Suzuki revealed this special one-off paint-scheme at Misano World Circuit this morning to celebrate the launch Rizla’s new ‘Micron’ premium rolling papers (no druggie jokes please).

The chrome livery reflects the design of the new Micron pack, and Álvaro Bautista is sporting the same colour scheme on his REV’IT leathers, Sidi boots and is donning a shiny new Shoei helmet.

Rizla Micron will be launched this month in Italy (we wonder why) and then the rest of the world.

Continue reading: Rizla Suzuki debuts one off 'Micron' livery for Misano GP

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John Hopkins second appearance in MotoGP at Brno, was cut short after a crash during a wet FP3 left him with a break and dislocation to his third finger and a dislocation to his second finger of his right hand.

Hopkins underwent surgery two days ago after returning home and unfortunately for the Anglo-American rider who has had his fair share of injuries in his career, this one turned out to much more worse than what it seemed after he was treated at the Clinica Mobile.

“Today’s surgery went very well but the injury itself was much worse than what we originally expected. Exact recovery time and when I will be back on the bike is yet to be determined but I can say I will be 100% or close to by Donington Park,” Tweeted Hopkins, adding the pic of his newly operated hand.

Whether Hopkins will want to risk riding his Samsung Crescent Suzuki at the British Superbike 3 race round at Cadwell Park that takes place in nine days still remains to be seen, even if he’s already qualified for the Showdown.

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John Hopkins can be defined the comeback rider. After his personal and physical problems in 2010, that almost forced him to retire, the Anglo-American rider is back on track and burning hot and true this 2011 season and becoming a hot commodity.

Riding in the British Superbike Championship for Samsung Crescent Suzuki, Hopkins is currently second in the standings and during the Brands Hatch round last weekend picked up even more precious points (finishing second, third and fourth place) and after a stunning pole position at the World Superbike weekend at Silverstone (5th and 7th) the American is ready to return to MotoGP action at Brno as a wildcard.

“This is my third race in as many weeks and I am really looking forward to it! It’s been very busy and doing these three different championships back-to-back is quite a challenge, but I am really excited to be back in amongst the big boys at MotoGP. When I rode at Jerez earlier in the year I’d had no real 2011 racing experience so it was a bit ‘in at the deep end’. It was also the first time I’d raced with my wrist working properly since the operation, up until then it was still healing and the few times I’d been on a bike in 2011 had been for pre-season tests and the filming shoot at Qatar. Now I feel that I have gained more confidence and I’m riding better than ever. I’m really pumped that the race is at Brno because it is one of my favourite tracks and I hope I can go well. I’m under no illusions that it will be tough, because the other guys have been racing on MotoGP bikes all season and I’ll need some time to get up to speed with the bike and tyres, but I’ll be giving it all I’ve got to try to get a good result for the team.”

Hopkins is also one of the few riders in the world to have competed in three different championships in a single year, not to mention three different races in three consecutive weeks (WSBK, BSB and MotoGP).

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Vegetating totally for three weeks on a beach somewhere is not contemplated for rider, even during the short summer break from MotoGP racing.

Motocross riding is part of their physical training (despite the known risks), so check out Alvaro Bautista and even his team manager Paul Denning, getting some MX quality time in Riverside, California along with Troy Lee and family.

Bautista is pumped to get back into action, when the championship resumes this weekend at Brno, which will also see John Hopkins back in Rizla Suzuki colours after replacing injured Bautista at Jerez earlier this season.

“I’ve been relaxing since the last race with a few days at the beach and now I’m training hard and looking forward to Brno. The last two races have been very positive and I think as a whole we are in the best position we have been since I’ve been in MotoGP. We need to continue with the progress we’ve made recently and the results will start to come. I had an injured back at Brno last year and couldn’t ride at my best, but I’m 100% now and will be pushing from day one. I hope John has a good weekend and enjoys himself; it will be good to have him there as it will give us the chance to push each other along. I’m sure we can work well together to get a good setting for the GSV-R and it will be nice to have a team mate again! I’m excited about the Brno race – I will be giving my maximum!”

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Be it the laid back atmosphere of Laguna Seca and the fact the MotoGP riders after Sunday’s race are going on their long awaited summer break or more likely they’ve been shown the articles written by some top English MotoGP journalists (the Italians and Spanish are more or less siding with the riders) criticizing their Motegi boycott, several of them have started to mellow, now stating they’ll will wait for the independent study commissioned by Dorna before making their final decision.

The riders may have taken a certain stand against going to Motegi, but they’re not against going to Japan in general and are still supporting the country in their own ways, like Alvaro Bautista.

For the Laguna Seca and Indianapolis GPs , Bautista will sport a one-off Troy Lee designed Shoei helmet to show his support for the people of Japan following the tragedy that hit the country earlier this year.

Continue reading: Alvaro Bautista's 'Ganbare Nippon' helmet for Laguna Seca and Indianapolis

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If we were to say who impressed us more after Dani Pedrosa coming back after a difficult injury to win the Sachsenring GP and Jorge Lorenzo’s gutsy pass at the final turn on the last lap, it would have to be Alvaro Bautista. The Spaniard who rides what is considered a lowly and uncompetitive Suzuki finished seventh after a race long battle with two tough opponents like Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi.

“I am happy with today’s result because it was a fun race and I am quite pleased with where we finished,” said Bautista. “At the beginning I had to try and get a good start, because in the first corner you have to be very careful with other riders. I got a decent start and was in a good position just behind the top riders, but I was a bit too far away from them, and my rhythm wasn’t quite as quick, so I couldn’t quite stay with them. I got involved with the two Ducati guys and really enjoyed the race with them. At the end it was very difficult to overtake Valentino and Nicky because they brake very hard and very late, making it tough to get past. On the last lap I overtook Valentino at the end of the main straight. I then followed Nicky and waited for the last two corners because I knew I had an opportunity there to get him. I had to brake with everything I had to get past him on corner 12, but I ran a bit wide and lost some speed, Nicky overtook me on the last corner, but he entered too quickly and he went out, so I got past him on the exit of the corner. I am very happy that we are the first finisher after the top six because they are on a different level at the moment. For the next race I hope to continue with this way of working and get closer to the top.”

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After his excellent 10th place at Jerez when he replaced Alvaro Bautista who was out with a broken leg, former MotoGP rider John Hopkins is fast becoming a hot item around the Grand Prix paddock.

The Anglo-American rider who is currently 2nd in the British Superbike Championship, was tipped as a replacement rider for injured Dani Pedrosa and Colin Edwards (which wasn’t necessary seeing that Edwards raced one week after surgery and took a 3rd place podium) but Hopkins turned down the offers, claiming loyalty to his Samsung Suzuki team.

However, Hopper will make another appearance in the premier class when he’ll wildcard with Rizla Suzuki at the Brno GP August 14th, on a third GSV-R.

Hopkins team manager, Jack Valentine, also confirmed a rumor that was circulating regarding LCR Honda who contacted the American rider. It’s unclear whether Lucio Checchinello was interested in a second rider or as a replacement for under performing Toni Elias, who apparently has been given a step up or ship out notice from his team and sponsors.

Source | bikesportnews.com and motomatters.com

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