American John Hopkins will be forced to miss the final regular season round of the British Superbike Championship at Caldwell Park this weekend due to finger injuries sustained in the Brno MotoGP practice crash
American John Hopkins will be forced to miss the upcoming Caldwell Park round of the British Superbike Championship this weekend due to the finger injuries he suffered in a crash during practice for the Brno MotoGP event two weekends ago. Hopkins had a seemingly inconsequential fall during a wet Saturday morning practice, losing the front end under braking and low-siding off the track. Unfortunately his right hand dug into the gravel in the runoff area, and he sustained fractures to three fingers to his right hand, including a dislocation/fracture to his third finger that required external pins to aid the healing process. Even though the pins will hopefully be removed on Wednesday, Hopkins and the Samsung Crescent Suzuki team have decided it would not be healed sufficiently enough by this weekend to handle riding a superbike over the notoriously tricky layout of the Caldwell Park circuit, which includes the “Mountain”, where the riders frequently get launched several feet into the air at more than 70 mph (although the quickest riders have found that the loss of time from being in the air isn’t worth it, and usually sacrifice a little speed on the approach in order to keep their bikes’ wheels on the ground and driving over the hill).
Although missing the last round theoretically will cost him points in the championship, Hopkins is already locked in to become a “Title Fighter” in the three-round “Showdown” portion of the BSB title run, by way of the NASCAR-like convoluted rules that pit the top six riders at the end of the regular “Main Season” championship in a three-round (seven races) finale. Each rider in the Showdown will start anew with 500 points, plus any “Podium Credits” (three points for a win, two points for second, one for third) they’ve earned during the regular season. The standard points-scoring tabulation will then resume for the final seven races.
“Been flat out every day with Hyperbaric/Laser treatment and have doctor appointment on Wednesday to hopefully have external pins removed,” wrote Hopkins on his Twitter page. “I just want to send my sincere apologies to the team and of course the fans for having to miss Caldwell this weekend!”
"Unfortunately Hopper's hand is not healed enough to race this weekend and while this is disappointing to us and the fans it is the right decision when we consider the upcoming Showdown phase of the Championship,” said Samsung Crescent Suzuki team manager Jack Valentine. "Hopper's been in daily contact as he's undergone intensive laser treatment and hyperbaric chamber sessions. He's explained the external pins are expected to be removed on Wednesday, but of course the weekend is too soon after that for his hand to be sufficiently healed.
"We will, we suspect, lose a few podium points to our rivals in the Showdown, but to race a Superbike at a track such as this when you don't have 100% strength in your throttle and brake hand is simply too dangerous both to the rider and his competitors and would only stand to slow Hopper's recovery from the injury.”
Photo Gallery: Hopkins to miss Caldwell Park BSB round - Sport Rider Magazine
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