Samsung Crescent Racing's John Hopkins admits that Thruxton could be his toughest round of the season so far as the American bids to maintain his podium-finishing form and close title-leader Shane 'Shakey' Byrne three point advantage at the team's home round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship next weekend (28-30 May).

Hopkins has scored a podium finish in all four races across the previous two rounds with a sensational debut win at Oulton Park, however ahead of the next round he believes it could be the toughest of the year yet due to his limited track knowledge although he is determined to maintain his early season form.

Hopkins said:

"I have seen a bit of Thruxton with just a few laps in the passenger seat of the car so this is probably going to be my toughest race of the season so far as I don't really have any track knowledge compared to the other guys. The first thing I am going to do is walk or cycle the track when we get there at the end of the week so that I have more of an idea before we start practice at the weekend. My first impressions were that it looks really fast, but that kind of high-speed track should suit the Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki.

"I may not know the track but my confidence is growing every weekend and I feel increasingly comfortable on the bike and getting it working how we need to. It's all been coming together so this weekend I want to do what I have done so far all season; go out there and put on the best show I can for myself, the team and the fans. I want to be back on the podium again at the team's home track so we will see what we can do on Monday."


Hopkins has also been working behind the scenes to do his homework on another one of the upcoming UK tracks since the previous round at Croft with a visit to Silverstone last week, whilst preparing for the next round of the championship.

Hopkins added:

"I have never done any laps of Silverstone; I had been there before to watch a World Superbike and a Formula 1 race, so for me it was awesome to get out there last week. I was able to do some good laps and it will help me later in the season which is particularly important especially if we are in the final six for the Showdown which I hope we are. The circuit and facilities are awesome and I can't wait to go there later in the season for sure. Other than that ahead of Thruxton I have been working on my new website that has just gone live (http://www.johnhopkins21.com) - I hope the fans like it and see you all at Thruxton!"