John Hopkins to return to BSB?

Former MotoGP podium finisher John Hopkins has set his aims on an eleventh hour return to the MCE British Superbike championship, after his plans to find a ride in the World Superbike paddock fell through.

With only a week to the opening round of the series at Donington Park, the American was in attendance at Thursday’s official test at the Derbyshire circuit to meet with team bosses about the possibility.

“Unfortunately after my original 2015 plans to take part in World Superbikes fell through, it left me scrambling to find another ride but with 95% of all the rides taken by that point in most of the top competitive championships, it forced me to take a step back and truly decide whether or not I wanted to continue my racing career or make the very difficult decision to retire.

“After putting a lot of thought into it and weighing everything up, I came to the decision that there was no way I was going to end my racing career with how it ended in 2014 – and I was going to do everything possible to get back out on track and show my true talent, potential and dedication!

“With the 2015 BSB season yet to start, I’ve been speaking to as many team managers as possible trying to put some sort of a deal together and although I’ve had some interest from a couple teams, nothing has been confirmed yet and I’m still vigorously searching and working on putting some form of a deal together even if it is just a ‘trial’ ride for the season opener.”

With BSB bosses keen to see the former championship runner-up return to the series, they are believe to have helped set up a number of meetings for Hopkins on his return to the paddock.

One option for him at this point could well be a return to former team boss Jack Valentine at Halsall Suzuki. With the newly factory supported team rumoured to have a new title sponsor also in the pipeline, it could be the perfect fit for him.