Hopkins and Roberts Jr looking for better fortune at Motegi John Hopkins will be racing in this Sunday’s Grand Prix of Japan for the first time since announcing his decision to stay with Suzuki, and he and team mate Kenny Roberts Jr will be determined to get further than the first corner this year! Hopkins will be looking for better fortune at Motegi than in 2003 and 2004. A first corner accident last year, caused by another rider, saw him crash out of the race – along with Roberts Jr and four other riders. The crash was a huge anti-climax for Hopkins as he had started from second place on the grid his best qualifying position so far. The talented Anglo-American star will be looking to put his Motegi jinx behind him and perform well in front of many Suzuki fans and staff that will be at the circuit. Roberts Jr will become only the second Suzuki racer to reach 100 Grand Prix starts for the Factory when he takes to the track for Sunday’s race. The Former World Champion is second only to Kevin Schwantz in Suzuki appearances and looks likely to pass Schwantz’s record of 104 starts by the end on the season. Roberts Jr is also hoping for better luck from this year’s race. A victim of the first corner incident last year, he sustained multiple injuries that forced him to miss the rest of the season through injury. Motegi is situated approximately 60 miles north-east of Tokyo. It was originally an oval circuit but has developed over the years to become one of the safest, smoothest and most modern facilities on the calendar. With a series of fast ess bends, hairpins designed to catch out unwary riders and a downhill top-speed section into a 90 degree bend, Motegi has a bit of everything. Team SUZUKI MotoGP will have two free practice sessions on Friday followed by a further free session on Saturday morning. The real business of qualifying for round 12 of the MotoGP World Championship will be on Saturday afternoon and the riders will take to the track for the race at 14.00hrs local time (07.00hrs CET) on Sunday 18th September. Paul Denning Team Manager: “We go to Japan after a frustrating race but also some successful tests in Brno, where we ran a completely new set-up for the GSV-R on the Monday which worked very well, particularly over race distance. The latest generation Bridgestone race tyres also worked well, and we were able to sustain a better pace from lap 10 onwards. The bike and tyres seem to suit Motegi quite well, and both Kenny and John have run very well there in the past. They both need a positive change in their Motegi luck though! “This is a very busy time of the year for the team, with five ‘fly-away’ races over six weekends. The race in Japan is again another ‘home’ race for Team SUZUKI MotoGP and Kenny, John and all the crew will be pulling out all the stops to give a professional and positive performance. There will be a lot of fans, guests and employees of Suzuki at Motegi and we’ll be looking to send them home happy.”