MotoGP – Estoril – John Hopkins: "The bike was fine"

John Hopkins crossed the finish line in sixth place, behind Marco Melandri. The Anglo-American's excellent start from the fourth row, which saw him tackle the first corner in sixth position, was not enough: in fact it was not possible for him to overtake Melandri in the early stages of the race. When, during the final laps, he took over the Italian's position, he was unable to maintain it due to some errors. The rider now looks towards the East, where Suzuki and Bridgestone will be in great shape for the Motegi race.

“I made an excellent start – commented John – which is becoming quite regular, so I have to keep going! I jumped through as many positions as possible at the start, but I was stuck behind Marco and Nicky and in the first moments they were going a bit crazy, they kept passing each other at every point. From there Nicky ran away and Marco was pulling away from me coming out of corners and I couldn't find a constant line that would allow me to get close enough to pass him. I got close towards the end but I made a few mistakes and he overtook me. The Suzuki worked very well and the Bridgestones – compared to last year – were fantastic and I congratulate them on reaching the podium. Now it's time to go to Japan. I know the Suzuki and Bridgestone tires will work well at Motegi, so I'm looking forward to being there. I slipped to fourth in the championship today, but I lost little to Dani so we need to see if we can catch up a bit in the next couple of races.”

Chiara Folci