After having raced in a very large number of championships, on very different motorcycles, John Hopkins decided to share his knowledge with Joe Roberts and Marcos Ramírez who will ride in 2020 on behalf of the American Racing team.
Hopkins rose to prominence in the United States by winning the AMA 2000cc Supersport title in 750 and then winning in 2001 in the AMA 1000cc Formula Xtreme. This led to him being recruited for the following season in the 500 Grand Prix by the Red Bull Yamaha WCM team which had him racing on a 500 Yam with teammate Garry McCoy. McCoy scored 33 points and Hopkins 58, which earned him a transfer to Suzuki in 2003, where he stayed for 5 years before moving to Kawasaki in 2008. A first pole at Assen in 2006 heralded a successful 2007 season, with a first podium in Shanghai, the first of 3 podiums that year.
He left Kawasaki at the end of 2008, then the following year saw him in Superbike at Stiggy Racing Honda without further success.
In 2011 he replaced Álvaro Bautista at the Jerez GP, finishing 10th, then made 2 more appearances with Suzuki as a wildcard but made no starts due to a hand injury. Hopkins played 7 full seasons in MotoGP from 2002 to 2008, without obtaining a victory, but 4 podiums and 1 pole position. He then performed brilliantly in British Superbike, challenging Shane Byrne for the title until the last race.
Born May 22, 1983 in Ramona, John Hopkins is now coach of two drivers: “I will work with American hopeful Joe Roberts and their new rider who moved from Moto3 to Moto2 Marcos Ramírez “, clarified “Hopper”.
Roberts was hoping for more from his first season with American Racing, with a best result of 14th at Le Mans and Assen, while Ramírez, who finished third with Leopard Racing in Moto3, moves up to the intermediate class, replacing Iker Lecuona who joins the Red Bull KTM Tech 3 MotoGP team.
Hopkins' goal seems clear, as the team not only faces the challenge of a new driver in 2020: “ They're going to be moving from the KTM chassis to the Kalex chassis for the 2020 season, so I'm going to help them with a little coaching, guide them and see if I can help them find their way with the Kalex chassis. »
Roberts and Ramírez, after participating in the 100km dei Campioni, will be back in action after the winter break in Jerez for the first tests of the year in Moto2.
Eitan Butbul and John Hopkins
Joe Roberts, Eitan Butbul and Marcos Ramirez
Photos © motogp.com / Dorna, American Racing
