American John Hopkins has vowed to come out fighting at Oulton Park this Bank Holiday weekend (3/4/5 May) as he bids to claim his first podium finish for the Tyco Suzuki team at the circuit where he first claimed a debut victory in 2011.

Hopkins made his racing return at Brands Hatch, scoring a fifth place in the opening race of the season and then missed out on a top ten finish with eleventh place in race two, but the Californian admits he doesn't intend on a repeat performance as he strives to return to the MCE BSB podium. Hopkins has fond memories of the Cheshire circuit, not only the scene of his first victory, but also where he made history by becoming the first American rider to win a MCE BSB race.

Hopkins said:

"I would say Brands Hatch went ok although I was disappointed with the result we had in race two, but we did end up with some good points and it was more than I came away with when I last raced in 2011. We took lots of positives away from Brands Hatch, not least that it was my first time back racing and getting reacquainted to running at speeds of nearly 200mph again after a year off!

"Looking at Oulton Park this weekend I definitely don't want to replicate race two at Brands Hatch again at all this season! I am now looking forward to the next round because I have fond memories of Oulton Park after my first win there in 2011. When we went to the event back then I knew we would be more competitive there than we were at the first round and I have exactly the same feeling now.

"We don't want to get ahead of ourselves and say we are going to win the races but I will be disappointed if we aren't fighting for the podium and in the top five from now on for the rest of the season. I am hoping to replicate what we did in 2011 and I want to be on the podium again this weekend that's for sure."


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