Hopkins Testing With Team Hammer

Last month, reports from Europe indicated Hopkins had signed a development deal with FB Corse, an Italian race team hoping to break into the MotoGP series.

On Jan. 14, however, Team Hammer, which races under the name Team M4 Suzuki, announced Hopkins will test a Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on Feb. 2-3. Team Hammer also announced it is in negotiations with Hopkins to race the 2010 AMA American Superbike season.

Hopkins won the 2000 AMA 750cc Supersport Championship and the 2001 AMA Formula Xtreme Championship with Team Hammer before moving to MotoGP in 2002.

Were excited about having the opportunity to test with a rider the caliber of Hopper and about the possibility that he might race with us in 2010, says Crew Chief Keith Perry. Its been several years since the team worked with John and we had a lot of success together the last time. John went on to have success in MotoGP and its been nice to see him do well on the World Championship scene. The team is hoping this test at Fontana will lay the groundwork for a successful partnership with Hopkins in anticipation of working together this upcoming season.

The last few years have been difficult for Hopkins. Injuries kept Hopkins out of most of the 2009 World Superbike Championship. Hopkins last two teams, the Stiggy Honda WSBK team and Kawasakis MotoGP team, no longer exist.

Meanwhile, FB Corse announced it is pushing back the official unveiling of its MotoGP prototype to Feb. 11 from the original date of Jan. 21. The team says the delay is because of part-owner Andrea Ferraris health issues. FB Corses website, http://www.fbcorse.it/, was in accessible when this article was written.

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