Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Dennis Noyes

Contrary to today’s earlier posting, sources close to the Suzuki MotoGP team have informed us that they had not planned to test this week at Phillip Island and had instead previously booked tests at Phillip Island on February 23-26.

Most journalists present at Sepang, including our on-site source, believed that Suzuki was intending to participate in the earlier tests that are now in progress.

The extra week will give both John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts additional time to recover from their recent injuries. Hopkins is recovering from surgery after fracturing both ankles during practice for an exhibition race at the San Diego AMA Supercross. Roberts suffered a bruised collarbone when he crashed on the first day of testing at Sepang on January 22, when a Bridgestone tire exploded at high speed. The fact that Roberts did not participate in the remaining two days of the test fueled speculation that the former 500cc World Champion might have suffered more serious injuries. A broken collarbone usually keeps a rider off the bike for 14 to 21 days while a bruised collarbone, though painful, is a much less serious injury. Journalists in Sepang apparently speculated that Roberts’ injury was more serious because of conflicting information released earlier about the seriousness of John Hopkins’ crash at San Diego. The 20-year-old from Ramona was first described as having “two sprained ankles,” although his injuries were more serious and required surgery.

Both Roberts and Hopkins are expected to be fit by February 23, but, in any event, test riders Kausuke Akiyoshi and Gregorio Lavilla are available. According to his management in Barcelona, Lavilla will travel to Australia and “will probably test.”