Interview: John Hopkins
Catching up with Hopper
By Chris Jonnum
For a guy who’s on the same team as he was last year, John Hopkins’ situation is quite a bit different this season. The Team Suzuki rider has a new team manager, a new home, and a new management company. He’s optimistic that the changes will help improve his results in the MotoGP series, as we learned when talking with him in the Suzuki hospitality area at the Estoril MotoGP round.

RRX: How are things going, John?
John Hopkins: Yeah, it’s going good. I think in my head I possibly could have underestimated the competition a little bit this year—it’s really strong—but I’m still quite positive about everything. My image and the image of the team has gotten better, and with Paul Denning [Suzuki’s new manager], the level of progress made by Suzuki is going to go up. He’s already made some changes.

What types of things has he done?
Basically just improved the communication level between the Japanese engineers in Japan and the race department that’s at every race. That’s the most important thing. Before, what we wanted never got to the guys who fixed it, and we’d never get what we wanted. Now we’re getting stuff that we want and stuff that the race department wants. They’re starting to listen to us a lot more. That’s crucial, to make the bike better, and Paul understands that.

How’s your crew?
Good. I have one new mechanic, Jeff Oh, who came over from Kenny’s side. He’s a cool Malaysian guy, and we had a good relationship. Same crew chief; I honestly think I’ll have the same crew chief for most of my career. Stuart [Shenton] worked with Kevin Schwantz, so he has some time in.

How’s your new place?
I bought a house in England, which was a nightmare. You have to go through like 500 people who want to take your money. You go through the real-estate agency, then surveyors, then solicitors, lawyers—just all kinds of people. In California, you go, “I want to get it,” and bang, bang, bang, you’re in the house. There, you sit and wait a couple months, and then you might be able to move in. I’m still staying with my cousin in London until I can actually move in. I have to go get some good results so I can pay for furniture and TVs and stuff [laughs].

Will you spend more time over here now?
Definitely, now that I have a solid place. The house itself is a lot bigger than what I own back home. I like it, and I can’t wait to move in. We were driving around in the snow for a couple days, flat-out, looking at places, and we finally found it, near Donington. There’s a lot of people to train with, and there’s a lot of people around that I know. I’ll always have something to do. There’s going to be a big hot tub on the back deck!

Are you happy to still be with Bridgestone?
Yeah, definitely. When I negotiated my deal last year, I basically wanted to stay with Bridgestone. Whenever I was talking to a manufacturer, the question about rubber would come up. I’d say, “Well, to be honest with you, I’d like to stick with Bridgestone.” I’m doing a lot of work with them, personally, and I think their level of commitment is higher than anybody’s. They’ve proven themselves in Formula 1, and they’ve brought their budget from Formula 1 into MotoGP, more so than Michelin. It’s only natural that their level of progress is going to be a lot higher than anyone else’s.

Are you looking forward to Laguna?
I can’t wait until Friday morning at Laguna, just to get out on the track. Most importantly, I’m looking forward to being home for July 4. That’s the weekend before Laguna, and I haven’t done that since I’ve been in GPs.