Hopkins targets podium in France

American John Hopkins reckons a new Suzuki motor will significantly bolster his hopes of an instant return to the podium at the French GP in Le Mans.

The Rizla Suzuki rider claimed his maiden premier class podium at the Shanghai GP in China when he finished a close third behind Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi.

It ended a six-year quest for the 23-year-old and he is now confident that an upgraded V4 motor for the French clash on May 20, 2007 will be a huge boost in repeating his Shanghai result.

Hopkins had hoped to have the engine for Shanghai, but there wasn’t time for Suzuki to build enough after he first tested it in Istanbul.

Designed for better corner exit acceleration and mid-range power, Hopkins told MCN: “Le Mans is a track where it would definitely benefit with us having that motor.

“It would have benefited us having it in China but without a doubt the factory is pushing. You could see in the race in Shanghai that coming out of the corners is where I lost out a bit to Casey and Valentino.

“But Suzuki wanted to test the durability of it to make sure there was no big issue by bringing it to Shanghai. It was a complete prototype when I rode it in Turkey so they wanted to make sure it would last.

“It’s better from 9000rpm under acceleration and will help in the second and third gear corners, which is a big feature of Le Mans.”

Hopkins and team-mate Chris Vermeulen will have two new motors each in France.