Hopkins Joins Stiggy Honda WSBK Team
Hopkins joins Stiggy Honda WSBK team
The Ramona, Calif. native is scheduled to make his 2009 debut at the next WSBK round, April 3-5 in Valencia, Spain. Hopkins is expected to take part in a test on the Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR during the next week.
Hopkins was entering his final year in a two-year contract with Kawasakis MotoGP team until the factory announced its withdrawal from the series on Jan. 9. MotoGP organizers worked to restore the Kawasaki team in some form, leading to the creation of the Hayate MotoGP team. The team opted to enter only one Kawasaki ZX-RR and unfortunately for Hopkins, the team decided to retain the newly-signed Marco Melandri as its sole rider.
Hopkins says he has resolved his contract issues with Kawasaki and is eager to move on.
Stiggy Honda has yet to announce what Hopkins signing will mean for its existing riders, Leon Haslam and Roberto Rolfo. Haslem, a former British Superbike racer, currently sits fifth in the rider standings with one podium finish in four races. Rolfos best result was a 13th place finish in the season-opening race in Australia but failed to complete either race in the second round in Qatar.
Hopkins will join Yamahas Ben Spies as the only two Americans in the 2009 World Superbike Championship.
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