FIM Officials Making An Example Of Hopkins?

FIM Officials Making An Example Of Hopkins?

© 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Was Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins harshly penalized by FIM officials to send a message to the MotoGP paddock that risky riding would not be tolerated? The FIM’s non-action on several similar incidents resulting in serious injuries to riders earlier this season seem to substantiate the theory.

Encouraged by improvements to his Suzuki GSV-R, strong lap times in practice and qualifying and a great launch, Hopkins made a bold move into turn one at the start of the Pacific Grand Prix October 5 at Motegi in Japan. But the move ended up being too bold.

“We’d been running pretty decent times all weekend, and I wanted the best start possible. I went into the first turn too hot, and there was nowhere to go except into Checa,” Hopkins was quoted as saying in a press release issued by his team.

Hopkins collided with Yamaha’s Carlos Checa, bringing both riders down. Ducati’s Troy Bayliss could not avoid the fallen pair and also crashed. Aprilia’s Colin Edwards was forced to take to the gravel to avoid the incident. No riders were injured in the pile-up.

According to press releases from his team and his personal publicist, Hopkins admitted his mistake and apologized to all of the riders affected, both publicly and personally. Nonetheless, Hopkins was disqualified from the Motegi race and suspended from participating in the next round in Malaysia. Additionally, Hopkins was fined and put on probation for the remainder of the 2003 season, according to a column written by his girlfriend Desiree Crossman.

The official release from the FIM on the penalty read: “On Sunday 5th October, during the MotoGP race, American rider John Hopkins has ridden in an irresponsible manner causing danger to other riders.

“For this infraction to Art. 1.21.2 of the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations, the Race Direction decided to impose upon him a suspension for the next Grand Prix event (Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang, 10-12 October 2003).”

“We appealed, but it was rejected, and we are deeply disappointed,” Suzuki team manager Garry Taylor was quoted as saying in a press release. “In our opinion, the punishment is overly severe. There have been many similar incidents in the past that have gone completely unpunished. In our view, it was a normal racing incident.”

Taylor had to look no further for examples than when Kenny Roberts hit Hopkins from behind, bringing both riders down, during the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello June 8. Roberts missed six weeks of the season due to injuries suffered in the crash.

During the Sunday morning warm-up session before the British Grand Prix at Donington Park July 13, Yukio Kagayama, who was filling in for the injured Roberts, ran straight at turn one and hit Alex Barros, injuring the Brazilian rider badly enough to end his streak of 158 consecutive Grand Prix starts.

June 15 at Catalunya, Kawasaki’s Andrew Pitt got into turn four too hot at the start of the race, hit Jeremy McWilliams; the crashing pair collected Pitt’s teammate Akira Yanagawa, sending Yanagawa to the hospital with two compressed vertebrae.

But for whatever reason, FIM officials apparently decided that now was the time to take action and that Hopkins would be the example. “We want to give a message to the riders that these things (MotoGP bikes) are fast, heavy and dangerous. We’ve spoken to the rider and there was an element of ‘it’s a fair cop’ to his reaction,” race director Paul Butler was quoted as saying in a press release issued by Honda.

And if the FIM was going to make an example of Hopkins, it definitely had to address Makoto Tamada’s bump pass to take third from Sete Gibernau on the last lap of the race. Tamada’s punishment (disqualification from the race), however, was not as severe as Hopkins’ penalty.

One viewpoint on the situation was offered by two-time World Superbike Champion Colin Edwards, a victim of Hopkins’ first-corner mistake. In the electronic bulletin board section of his fan website, www.ceracing.com, Edwards wrote, “Bullshit Bullshit!!!!! That’s all I can say about the whole weekend at Motegi. From the first turn crash to Tamada and Hopper’s DQ. I guess they don’t want us to race anymore. ‘You guys just go do circles for a few laps, but don’t dare rub paint or you will be DQed’ Bullshit!! I guess that means Troy [Bayliss] and I should have been DQed on a number of occasions the last couple years.”

Two days after the incident, Hopkins was still apologetic for his mistake and baffled by his penalty. In a press release issued by his publicist Tuesday, Hopkins was quoted as saying, “I made a mistake and am deeply sorry to the riders caught up in the accident. I understand the importance of rider safety, but I was stunned by the penalty I received. If I had a pattern of dangerous riding I could understand the suspension, but my crash in Japan was a single mistake in judgment and I don’t feel it warranted such a harsh punishment. The last thing I want is to put myself and my fellow riders in danger.”


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