John Hopkins has announcd he is making a return to the grand prix paddock in 2020 after being hired by Moto2 team American Racing as its rider coach.
The American racer will be tasked with mentoring Joe Roberts and Marco Ramirez, the former entering his second third full season in Moto2, while the latter is making his debut after finishing third overall in the Moto3 World Championship
Hopkins competed at the highest-levels of the sport between 2002 and 2008, predominantly with Suzuki – with whom he achieved four podiums – before joining Kawasaki for a single season prior to the Japanese manufacturer’s decision to quit the sport.
Hopkins proceeded to make a career out of Superbike racing thereafter, famously just losing out on the 2011 BSB title to Tommy Hill by 0.006s, but the latter half of his career was beset by a series of injuries that required lengthy periods out of action.
With his last high-profile racing appearance coming back in 2017 when he raced the Moto Rapido Ducati in BSB, Hopkins says he is looking forward to imparting his wisdom onto a new generation of racers.
“I’ll be working with American hopeful Joe Roberts and their new, upcoming Moto3 to Moto2 rider Marcos Ramirez.
“They’re [American Racing] switching over from KTM chassis to Kalex chassis for the 2020 season, so I’m going to go over, help them out with a little rider coaching, rider mentor and see if I can help them find their way with the Kalex chassis.”
