Stiggy Racing Honda have signed John Hopkins to contest the FIM Superbike World Championship and announced that Roberto Rolfo has left the team.
Hopkins, who was left without a ride in the FIM MotoGP World Championship when Kawasaki withdrew its factory team, will team up with Leon Haslam.
In a statement the team announced: “Stiggy Racing Honda Team finally broke its silence on Friday, confirming that John Hopkins will join the team from the third round of the Superbike World Championship in Valencia. We are sorry to announce the premature ending of our collaboration with Roberto Rolfo, due to insolvable matters of sponsor interest.”
Arriving at the privateer Stiggy team with seven seasons of MotoGP experience under his belt, including a fourth place finish overall in 2007, Hopkins is eager to show he hasnÂ’t joined World Superbikes to simply make up the numbers.
“My goal is to accumulate as many wins and podiums as possible. I am looking forward to the experience and riding all the new tracks. I would like to thank my sponsors, Monster, Alpinestars, and Arai, for standing by me this season, and I would like to thank Stiggy Racing Honda for giving me the opportunity to go racing in such a competitive series!”
Having seen the MotoGP grid steadily dwindle over the years, Hopkins is excited by the prospect of racing in fields of around 30 riders, adding that World Superbikes seems to promote closer racing.
“I am really excited to get back out on the track and have nothing but good expectations. I have been watching SBK over the past few years and the series is always very exciting. Each year, it keeps growing and growing and drawing more and more attention.
“The racing seems a lot tighter than in MotoGP. The machines seem more evenly matched so, all and all, I am just really excited to get started.”
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