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Tag: WorldSSP300

Frustrating end for Hopkins in Misano

In the province of Rimini Italy, and under beautiful sunny skies, Hopkins competed in the latest round of the World Supersport 300 Championship. Home to the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli and round five of the series Hopkins was up against 37 other riders from across the globe.

It was another new track for the youngster from Sittingbourne to learn. The 2.6 mile circuit runs anti-clockwise and is one of the favourites of Valentino Rossi who lives about 11 miles from the circuit.

The race weekend began at lunchtime on the Friday with the first of two 30 minute free practice sessions. 15-year-old Hopkins used the time to familiarise himself with the track layout. During the afternoon free practice session he knocked more than three seconds off his lap time as his confidence grew.

Superpole took place on Saturday. Again the weather was bright and sunny with track temperature at 40 degrees. Hopkins was able to cut another second off his lap time as he qualified 34^th for the race on Sunday with a lap time of 1:57.916.

On the Sunday the riders formed on a packed grid with a track temperature a scorching 47 degrees. Keen as ever to get the race underway Hopkins made a good start on lap one. On lap two he made a move up the inside of another rider but unfortunately he tucked the front of his Kawasaki Ninja 300. Frustrated to have come off so early and determined to continue with the race, Hopkins remounted. Unfortunately he was unable to restart the bike and his race had ended prematurely.

Luke Hopkins said, ”It was a disappointing end to the weekend. Everyone had worked hard and unfortunately I made a mistake early in the race. I’m sorry to all of them as it was my mistake.”

Hopkins is hoping to put this race behind him quickly as he has been invited to compete in the Dutch Supersport300 series at the famous TT circuit in Assen next weekend.

23/06/2017
Luke Hopkins back from injury WorldSSP300

Photo: Craig Hobbs Photography

06/06/2017
Hopkins breaks collar bone in Assen

Luke Hopkins was unable to compete in the World Supersport 300 race at Assen this weekend after breaking his collar bone in free practice.

The 15-year-old from Sittingbourne was setting a good pace when rain began to fall at the very end of the session. Unfortunately, Hopkins high-sided coming out of turn nine and landed heavily on his shoulder. The result was a broken right collar bone.

Initially treated at the track-side Hopkins was taken to the local hospital where a large plate was fitted to the bone.

Hopkins was able to leave the hospital the following day. Now back at home in Kent he will have to patiently wait around six weeks before be able to ride a motorbike again.

Luke Hopkins said, “I’m gutted. The weekend started really well. I was pleased with the times I was setting. Then at the end of the session some rain began to fall. It wasn’t on all of the track so it caught me out as I came through the De Bult curve. I just high-sided as I accelerated from the corner and the next I knew was there was a lot of pain in my right shoulder and I was in the gravel. I’d like to thank the marshals and medical staff at the circuit and the hospital for looking after me so well.”

02/05/2017
Positive start to WorldSSP300 for Luke Hopkins

World Supersport300 rider Luke Hopkins from Kent got his season off to a positive Start at the Motorland circuit in Aragon.

The 15-year-old from Sittingbourne was runner-up in the Team Green Junior Cup last year on his Kawasaki Ninja 300, in just his second season of racing bikes. This season he has taken a giant step up to the World Supersport300 series riding against ex-MotoGP riders such as Scott Deroue and Ana Carrasco.

Photo: Ron Askew Photography

Learning a new track and competing against a world class field Hopkins registered a lap time of 2:20.711 in the first free practice session. The second session took place after a short thunderstorm leaving the track wet in some places. The result was the riders were unable to improve on their lap times.

On Saturday Hopkins took part in Superpole one and continued to improve his lap times. He finished the session 2:19.479 registering his fastest time just as the chequered flag for the session came out. He qualified 32^nd out of 37 riders, three of which failed to make the grid.

Hopkins had to wait until after lunch on Sunday for the first ever World Supersport 300 race. The 11 lap race at Motorland Aragon circuit took place in very windy conditions. Immediately Hopkins made progress making up one place by the end of the first lap.

After five laps Hopkins made further progress as he crossed the line in 28^th position. Continuing to keep his head down and push on Hopkins began to close down an Italian rider in front of him. Managing to cut a substantial gap between him and the rider he finally overtook him with two laps to go.

Luke Hopkins finished his first ever World Supersport 300 Championship race in a fantastic 22^nd place and set his fastest lap time of the weekend with a 2:17.981.

Luke Hopkins said, “The experience was incredible. Although I wasn’t racing at the front like last year I am learning so much racing against this calibre of rider. We made a small change to the bike set-up from yesterday and although we didn’t have a warm up to test it, the result was good. I must thank my sponsors for enabling me to be here and of course my family who are always fantastic support.”

Luke Hopkins next race will be in the Hel Performance Motostar British Championship where he will ride a Moto3 in the standard class at brands Hatch Indy on 15^th to 17^th April.

Image: Ron Askey Photography

07/04/2017
Luke Hopkins WorldSSP300 championship

A recent press release of ours was used to publish a story about Kent based rider Luke Hopkins on the World Superbike site. The 15-year-old will be one of the youngest riders in the championship. Clearly the World Superbike website attracts huge numbers of web traffic so the exposure for Luke and his sponsors was fantastic.

17/01/2017
Hopkins preparing for international racing in 2017

After his impressive year in the Team Green Junior Cup Luke Hopkins will be facing a new challenge in 2017 as he enters the FIM World Championship Superstock 300.

Photo: Hilary Hardy

Hopkins, who only started racing in 2015, finished runner-up in the Team Green Junior Cup on his Kawasaki Ninja 300 where he turned a few heads with his performances in 2016. His performances saw him win the Most Improved Rider trophy from the British Motorcycle Racing Club, which covers all the motorcycle classes they put on.

For 2017 the rider from Sittingbourne will compete in 9 races at major European circuits. He will continue to ride the Ninja 300 he improved so well on this season, but this time in the Superstock 300. This is a new production championship which has been designed as a feeder series to the higher classes within the World Superbike series. Although different bikes can enter the idea is to try and provide as level a playing field as possible to enable the riders to show their talents as racers and at an affordable cost.

Hopkins will be one of the youngest riders in the class as the minimum age to compete is 15-years-old. The purpose of the class is to enable teams in higher classes to identify emerging talent. Hopkins will be racing at famous circuits such as, Aragon, Assen, Silverstone, Misano and Magny Cours amongst others.

Photo: Zarra Hopkins

Last year, Hopkins also competed in the Moto3 class of British Superbikes for several rounds as well as some rounds of the Moriwaki Cup series. This means he already has some experience of some of the European tracks. The idea is similar for the 2017 season, several wildcard appearances in the Moto3 series as well as the Team Green Junior Cup to provide Hopkins with as much track time as possible.

The Kent based rider has sponsorship opportunities available for businesses, so if you are interested in some great national and European exposure for your business whilst helping 15-year-old Luke to realise his racing dreams please contact the Hopkins family by email: lukehopkinsracing@gmail.com. To keep up-to-date with his progress throughout the season you can also visit his Facebook page by searching for Lukehopkins26.

Luke Hopkins said, “This is a great opportunity for me to grow as a rider. I should be racing against some of the best up and coming young talent in motorcycle racing in this championship, which can only help me improve. The wildcard appearances in Moto3 and the Team Green Junior Cup will not only enable me to catch up with good friends but also provide me with valuable track time too. I’m already excited about going testing in Cartagena early next year!”

Sittingbourne Messenger

07/12/2016