Hopkins storms to third at Brands HatchHard work rewarded for Lloyds British Moto Rapido DucatITwo more races to run in Kent
John Hopkins has scored the first ever podium for the Ducati Panigale R in the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch (17 October). In a sensational first race of three this weekend, Hopper stormed from the second row of the grid to finish third and bring Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati its first trophy in Britain’s top racing series.
It wasn’t a completely trouble-free day for the former MotoGP ace as he missed out on almost all the morning’s free practice with a mechanical problem. In qualifying it looked like Hopper could score yet another front row, but spots of rain early on in the session meant it would be the inside of the second row for the Ducati.
Hopkins made a blistering start from sixth and blasted around the outside into fifth at Paddock Hill bend off the line. Determined not to let title protagonists Shane Byrne and Josh Brookes get away it was just a few more corners before the #15 bike was on the move again, taking fourth place from Christian Iddon’s Suzuki and soon after third from Danny Buchan at Surtees.
From there he latched onto the rear wheel of Brookes who was trying everything to get past Byrne for the lead. As the two tussled to decide the 2015 BSB championship, Hopkins ensured he didn’t affect the result and sat comfortably behind the pair. Hopper had to keep one eye on Iddon behind, but was able to manage his third place for the middle phase of the race.
Once Brookes made it through and into an unassailable lead Hopper pushed on again to close the gap to Byrne. Despite struggling with grip he moved to within 0.2s of the Kawasaki, but the chequered flag came out before he could mount a charge for second position.
Securing a front-row start for the second race tomorrow (18 October), Hopkins is hunting for more trophies to take back to the hard-working Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati team, and said: “Ever since I got this ride we have been pushing for a podium – it’s been a long time coming! We’ve got so close before, so to finally get it is amazing.
“We got a good start, I was following Josh [Brookes] and Shane [Byrne] watching them bash each other up and swap places so I just thought I would try and conserve my tyres as much as possible. Unfortunately we missed all of this morning’s session so we didn’t have a lot of time to set up the bike and so there were some improvements we could have made. Once the tyres started to drop off I was pushing the front quite hard and then rear was spinning up a lot so I was unable to chase him down and make a break as I was at the limit.
“There are things we can change tomorrow to improve our pace but first and foremost I have to say a massive thank you to the team. This is definitely dedicated to them for all the hard work they have put in this year and it is so nice to finally repay them with this podium because, like I said, it’s been a long time coming for them and I can’t thank them enough.”
The 2015 MCE British Superbike Championship concludes at the iconic Kent venue tomorrow (18 October), with the action broadcast on British Eurosport. Follow @DucatiUKRacing on Twitter and find Ducati UK Racing on Facebook for all the latest updates.
