John Hopkins ended his five-year Suzuki career in style at Valencia on Sunday, by
powering his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R to a podium finish and fourth place in the 2007 MotoGP
World Championship.
Starting from seventh on the grid, the Anglo-American made a strong start and was up to
fourth by the first corner. He then passed Nicky Hayden to move in to third place on lap
four, behind Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa.
Hopkins tried to chase down the two in front of him, but the gap was already too large
and he had to settle for a race against the clock as he was never troubled by another
rider for the remaining laps.
An emotional Hopkins eventually crossed the line with his front wheel high in the air to
celebrate his best-ever result at Valencia, his fourth podium of the season and fourth
overall in the 2007 riders' world championship.
"I have just got to thank everyone at Suzuki - that is my first and foremost task," said
Hopper, who will race for Kawasaki next season. "To every member at Suzuki I want to
pass on my ultimate thanks to them, Suzuki has given me my life in MotoGP and
established my career and I just cannot show enough gratitude to them.
"Today the tyres and the bike worked awesome and I just went for it from the
beginning!" he recalled. "I got a good start and then got around Nicky Hayden, but from
there it was a pretty lonely race. I just had to push myself against the clock and make
sure I pulled away from the riders behind me. I succeeded in that but it was very
emotional on the last few laps with that comfort and I had to concentrate real hard to
keep focused!
"It's a great result because my Mum, sister, fiancée and her family are all here today so
it was an unbelievable feeling when I crossed the line - it was a great way to end the
year. I would have liked to have put the bike on the top step for Rizla Suzuki and
especially all my crew, but that's for Dani and the home fans today!" full story here
pic from rizla-suzuki-motogp.co.uk