Suzuki SBK’s Hopkins To Promote Safety at Isle of Man TT
John Hopkins
2013 Isle of Man TT News
With the 2013 Isle of Man TT underway (qualifying week), the FIXI Crescent Suzuki World Superbike team announced that John “Hopper” Hopkins will be re-united with the team.
But Hopkins, who ruled himself out of 2013 World SBK due to an ongoing hip injury, won’t be racing at the TT. Rather, he’ll be performing some ambassador work for his sponsor Monster Energy, promoting rider safety and encouraging motorcyclists to ride within their limits.
During Mad Sunday at the Isle of Man TT, Hopkins will pilot a street-legal GSX-R1000 donning FIXI Crescent livery with thousands of others on the traditional ride on the Mountain Course.
This will also be the first time Hopkins has ridden since his recent hip operation. The former MotoGP pilot injured his hip at Monza World Superbike in 2012, and although he finished that season, the injury never fully healed. After he ruled himself out, he decided to undergo hip surgery in hopes of riding next season.
John Hopkins says: “This is a great opportunity and a really big treat for me to visit the Isle of Man and get out there and ride with all the fans on Mad Sunday. I’ll basically try and advocate rider safety and how you can ride fast, but still be within your limits and that of the bike, and have a great time out on the road – which isn’t my natural style so that should be interesting! I cannot wait to get back on a bike after the hip operation, but I’ll certainly be taking things steady and being pretty cautious out there!
“I want to say a big thank-you to Paul Denning and the guys at FIXI Crescent Suzuki for sorting out a bike for me to ride. There is benefit for me to get a bike from the guys at Crescent, because I get to ride a bike I know has been maintained and prepared 100%, as well as riding a bike I’m already familiar with which makes me feel a lot safer. Hopefully one day I’ll be back on a Suzuki on the track, but for now we’ll have to wait and see what happens!
“I also want to say a huge thanks to Monster Energy for sponsoring the event and having me along to be a part of it. The TT is something I’ve always looked up to my whole life and one that I cannot wait to experience, so it is thanks to them that I can now finally be involved with something that I grew up hearing stories about!”
