Frustration for Kawasaki and John Hopkins
Frustration for Kawasaki and John Hopkins
By Dirck Edge
It is no secret that Kawasaki signed John Hopkins to a multi-million dollar contract to help Kawasaki get onto the podium (including the top step thereof) this year. Unfortunately, Hopkins tore the abductor muscle in his leg during testing at Phillip Island before the series started. Pain from this injury contributed to a poor performance during the opening round at Qatar, where he eventually finished in 12th position. Not what he or Kawasaki had hoped for.
Unfortunately, Hopkins says his injury has yet to heal, and round 2 at Jerez arrives this weekend. With the immense pressure to perform, the last thing Hopkins needed was a nagging injury at the start of his relationship with Kawasaki. In MotoGP, you have the added concern that all of the teams are constantly developing thier motorcycles, and injuries frustrate this process as well.
Hopkins has had more than his share of bad luck, but he has the skill to accomplish everything Kawasaki hoped for when it set out to win the bidding war for his services this year. As always, only time will tell, but a few good breaks could easily result in a green bike mixing it up with the leaders at each round.
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