[kropotkin thinks...] - Hopkins Out Of Sepang MotoGP As Hand Injury Returns

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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John Hopkins has not had much luck as a wildcard rider in MotoGP this season. After a relatively successful race replacing Alvaro Bautista at Jerez, the American has twice received the call up as a wildcard, and has not been able to race in either of them, after Suzuki today confirmed that Hopkins has been forced to pull out of the Sepang round of MotoGP.

Hopkins' withdrawal from Sepang is directly connected to his pulling out at Brno. The American broke his finger during practice in the Czech Republic, ruling him out of the race there. Hopkins then had surgery to fix the broken finger and went on to complete the season in BSB, but the higher stresses of racing a MotoGP bike have caused the plates holding his finger together to come apart, preventing him from bending his finger. As it is his right hand, riding became impossible, and he has been forced to pull out of Sunday's race in Malaysia.

Below is the official press release from Suzuki:

Hopkins forced to withdraw from Malaysian Grand Prix

Publish Date: Saturday, October 22, 2011

John Hopkins has had to withdraw from of this weekend's Sepang GP due to further complications with the broken finger he damaged in Brno earlier this season.

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