American John Hopkins returned to the British Superbike Championship by taking a double win as the three-race “Showdown” for the title began this weekend at Donington Park. Still recovering from the finger injuries suffered during a practice fall in his wildcard ride on the Suzuki GSVR800 at the Brno MotoGP, Hopkins quickly got back into the groove of riding a superbike, winning a four-way dogfight in Race One. In Race Two, Hopkins grabbed the lead from Hill on the fifth lap and pulled away to an easy win, vaulting the Samsung Crescent Suzuki rider from third in points before the race to a 3-point lead as the series heads to Silverstone in two weeks’ time.
In Race One, Hopkins was involved in a sensational four-way scrap for the win with title rivals Tommy Hill and Michael Laverty on the Swan Yamahas, and Shane Byrne on the HM Plant Honda. Numerous lead changes and paint-swapping ensued over the race’s 20 laps, with Hopkins finally taking the lead from Laverty three laps from the end with an outbraking move in the Fogarty Esses and holding off the Yamaha rider to the finish.
Hopkins holds off Laverty...
Hopkins holds off Laverty (7) and Hill (behind Laverty) on his way to victory in Race One at Donington.
"The focus for me was always on the race win and podiums are good but to win the championship we need to be winning races. That was amazing; one hell of a race and I had a good view over the opening laps before we had a really good battle amongst us for the win. I knew we could be strong at the end of the race and the adrenaline really does mask the pain I had in my hand until the cool down lap. There was definitely no screwing around in that race."
Race Two saw some drama in the first turn as title contenders Byrne and Laverty ended up in the gravel trap outside of Redgate. Laverty apparently tried to go up the inside of Byrne but the pair collided, with both riders frantically remounting their machines in an effort to grab valuable championship points. Byrne ended up working his way back up to eighth at the finish, with Laverty only able to make it to 14th spot. Meanwhile, Hill was trying to make a break at the front, but Hopkins quickly caught him and passed the Swan Yamaha rider on the fifth lap to grab a lead he would soon build to two seconds at one point. Hopkins took the championship lead with his Race Two victory, with Hill second and Hopkins’ Samsung Crescent Suzuki teammate Jon Kirkham third.
"It's extremely special for me to win both races on a day of remembrance back home in America,” said Hopkins after his Race Two victory. “I'm thinking of those people and their families. This is my tribute to them. It was a shame to see Shakey (Byrne) and Michael (Laverty) crash out, but that’s racing. I got out there and had the pace to really put the hammer down. But the lack of distractions meant the pain in my fingers was very obvious. The bike was awesome though and from half-distance I was able to pull four-tenths a lap on Tommy and once we got to a two-second buffer, I just controlled it from there. We come away from here with the lead and that is what we needed."
Race 1 results:
1. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki
2. Michael Laverty (GBR) Yamaha
3. Tommy Hill (GBR) Yamaha
4. Shane Byrne (GBR) Honda
5. Jon Kirkham (GBR) Suzuki
6. Josh Brookes (AUS) Suzuki
7. Peter Hickman (GBR) Honda
8. James Ellison (GBR) Honda
9. Martin Jessopp (GBR) Ducati
10. Graeme Gowland (GBR) Honda
Race 2 results:
1. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki
2. Tommy Hill (GBR) Yamaha
3. Jon Kirkham (GBR) Suzuki
4. Martin Jessopp (GBR) Ducati
5. Josh Brookes (AUS) Suzuki
6. Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Honda
7. James Ellison (GBR) Honda
8. Shane Byrne (GBR) Honda
9. Chris Walker (GBR) Kawasaki
10. Graeme Gowland (GBR) Honda
British Superbike Championship standings:
1. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 568
2. Tommy Hill (GBR) Yamaha 565
3. Shane Byrne (GBR) Honda 543
4. Michael Laverty (GBR) Yamaha 532
5. Josh Brookes (AUS) Suzuki 530
6. Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Honda 518
7. Jon Kirkham (GBR) Suzuki 172
8. Peter Hickman (GBR) Honda 137
9. Gary Mason (GBR) Kawasaki 135
10. Michael Rutter (GBR) Ducati 130