Hopper to BSB?!

Hello. My name is Gigi Awesome. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

 

I guess that makes you Count Tyrone Rugen. Do you have six fingers?

 

Maybe if you measured him like a horse?

 

You should pass that advice on to Jack Valentine over at Cescent Suzuki.

Posted 12-10-10 by Asphalt and Rubber:

"Valentine told MCN that 'Crescent are in discussions with former MotoGP star John Hopkins, who is now fully fit again and finished on the podium in the last two rounds of the AMA series.'"

 

Sure would be nice to see some fresh talent in the Superbike ranks, that wasn't a charity ride.

I think at this point, a lot of the top 600 guys are a little scared to move up because of the surprisingly low success rate when riders make that leap. Imagine if Cardenas took that leap, then finished 10th for the year? He'd lose a lot of momentum from the top 3 contender he is, in the 600 class.

But, the next team to find a rider like Spies, will be the one that strikes gold.

I would like to see Jake Holden get the M4 ride, just to see what he can do before his "prime" is up. He has a lot of talent and it would be a shame if he never gets a solid ride to prove himself on. Yosh Suzuki should have tried him out while Blake was out..

 

I saw Josh Herrin test rode the R1, did Cardenas test ride the GIX? I'm a fan, he has his head on right.

 

Well...not that you need to hear it from me, but it's pretty clear you can't beat yourself up over the Hopkins contract affair. If I had known someone nearly their entire life, helped them along through out their career, considered them a longtime family friend, etc., I and probably most of the other folks on this board would have done the same thing. Shame on Hopper for bald-face lying to such a long time friend...and seriously hurting his credibility in the process. This wasn't a little white lie, and I'm pretty stunned at not only his lack of ethics, but his shortsightedness!

 

I guess this is a case where the rider did well by being represented by management who represented his interests?

Told you so

 

Regardless of his health, the dude looks like a date rapists.
I wouldn't want him representing any company I work for.

 

WTF? :down:

 

Huh?

He looks like any skinny moto kid with the Monster hat and his ears tucked in...I can safely say he looks like just about every 26 or under male in Temecula, Murrietta, and Menifee.

 

^^^^thats not true....pffft.

 

While the first part is in the eye of the beholder, it gave me a chuckle. I agree with the second part. Given his behavior the past 2-3 years I wouldn't want the guy representing my company either.

 

Hopper has a lot of heart when it comes to this sport. I've seen him beat, busted and banged to shit and the guy never fails to have a smile on his face and let his fans know that he's down for just a bit and will be back. He's one tough SOB and has overcome and persevered through a helluva lot. I can think of a lot of whiney girlyboys who have come and gone, but Hopper is not one of em. Man has my respect, even if things didn't work out with JU. I hope he bounces back strong.

 

really??? Elena Meyers getting a promised ride for GP?? You must be joking.

Maybe back at Laguna they told he she could take one around the track at Valencia at the end of the year for fun.....before they decided to cut their team to one rider and reduce their budget The last thing they needed at Valencia was a publicity stunt with her doing a lap. She is not being groomed to ride in GP so, she was not screwed out of a ride for next season. Maybe you are saying they told her she could, but things/budgets changed. So they did not ship her to Europe for a photo op and to rev the engine a bit....it sucks, but things change. It was not like Ilmor pulling out of GP and McCoy and McWilliams not racing.

She has the same race number (21), has ridden under the same manufacturers (Kawi and Suzuki), and had her picture taken on a Rizla Suzuki bike.....those are the only things in common she has with Hopkins as far as racing goes. I will say she is a great rider in her class right now and I look for her to improve. I would like to see her hold her own in DSB, but I don't see much past that. If it does happen where she can be a top rider on a Superbike....then bonus for me and her!!



Capirossi destroyed too many bikes for Suzuki to risk letting her bust one up.

 

I think Hopkins has shown he can still ride. This season he placed in the top five 7 times with three podiums in a row at the end of the year (while on the mend). If he heals up even more then he will be a factor in the top 5 for the season.

Regarding Hacking....I am sure he could come back tomorrow an run up front with Superbike guys. He did pretty good against Spies/Mladin on their trick Yosh Suzuki bikes when he was on an inferior ZX-10. Now that the Superbike class has been neutered, he should have no problem getting some wins and running with the pack. It is funny to hear people say the old riders need to move on....yet the old riders are showing they are still the ones to beat. Josh Hayes, Ben Bostrom, Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa, Haga, and Rossi were all winning titles, races, podiums and in the top ten of their respective classes. Dont forget Hacking took 7th in race 1 at the 09 Miller WSBK round...not bad considering the talent in that field and limited time on that bike/team/tires. He was beat by Spies, Biaggi, Fabrizio and Checa (all GP riders)...so I think he could run with the AMA superbike grid just fine.

 

In September he said on a radio show that he was 70 percent and that was as good as it was going to get and was all he needed to twist the throttle.:up:

 

Very Very much true, lol...Bro :up: lol

 

I think the big 'IF' is when will he be 100%? When I thought he was getting back to form in 2009 he broke his hip when he rode for Stiggy Honda. No doubt he's had some bad luck with injuries but I'd really like to see him complete a season without injury. Is it not customary for a rider to take a year off to take time to heal. I remember Max Neukirchner had a similar issue in 2009 with Suzuki saying he was fit after injury and that wasn't the case. Not sure if he was still injured in 2010 but his performance with Honda was dismal compared to the year he had previously.

 

JU sucks, apparently he's the worst thing to happen to roadracing in the US (3rd comment)

Not if you're company was selling to those same 26 & under skinny moto kids with their ears tucked in their hats (worst. trend. ever.), know your audience.