John Hopkins Ready For Jerez

Rizla Suzuki choose John Hopkins to replace Alvaro Bautista on next round MotoGP at Jerez. John Hopkins will make a return to MotoGP racing and reunited with the Rizla Suzuki team. John Hopkins was on the 4th place on 2007 MotoGP standings.

“I was shocked by what happened to Álvaro, especially after such good winter testing, and I really wish him a speedy and full recovery - I wanted the opportunity to get back on a MotoGP bike, but not under these circumstances,” explained Hopkins, who rode the GSV-R during the Qatar Test, but only for some commercial filming.

“I’m under no illusions that this will be tough weekend for me, as I’ve not been on a GP machine for a couple of years or ridden the new control tyres – except for the filming I did in Qatar a couple of weeks ago – so I realise this will be a step up from what I have been riding recently. The bikes have moved on in the last three years, but when I rode the GSV-R at Losail it seemed so familiar and I immediately had a good feeling, but that was at filming pace, so it’s going to be a lot different at race pace!”

Hopkins continued: “I know the Jerez track well, so it’s not like I need to learn a new circuit and I also know the team well so that that will help a lot. I will certainly be trying as hard as I can to get a good result and make sure that I don’t disappoint anybody – myself included. I want to say a big thank you to Suzuki and Rizla for giving me this opportunity and I intend to pay back their faith with a good performance on my return to MotoGP.”

Alvaro Bautista Surgery Was Successful

Rizla Suzuki rider Álvaro Bautista suffered a crash during a practice session in Qatar last Friday, March 18th, in which he sustained a displaced transverse fracture of the proximal third femur. Due to logistical issues regarding his immediate transfer in a specially designated medical aeroplane Dr Ángel Villamor coordinated emergency surgery for Bautista along with the doctors at the Hamad Medical Corporation, a procedure which took place at the Doha facility.

The doctors at the Hamad Medical Corporation performed the intramedullary fixation of the fracture with interlocking screws. During the process the doctors suspected that a form of compartmental syndrome was developing, caused by bleeding inside the thigh, and decided to make an incision from the hip to the knee to relieve the muscle inflammation. This incision remained open, and an attempt to close it was made in a new procedure 48 hours later but without success.

At 8pm last night (Wednesday) Bautista landed in Madrid on a specially prepared medical aeroplane, and was transferred by ambulance to the Hospital USP San José – something he had requested at the time of the accident. There he received a blood transfusion having lost more than one litre of blood due to the fracture he had suffered.

Upon his arrival at the hospital Bautista was received by Dr Ángel Villamor, Medical Director of IQTRA and traumatology at the Hospital USP San José. The general condition of Bautista was good, although he arrived tired and in pain. An immediate blood test was carried out, which revealed that his haemoglobin levels had increased, and subsequent MRI and ecography scans confirmed the localised presence of internal bleeding in the thigh.

In new scans the correct fixation of the femur fracture was confirmed.

In light of the situation and with the patient in a stabilised condition, Dr Villamor decided to perform a new surgical procedure to begin the reduction of the quadriceps muscles which had become herniated through the open incision (which was 6x30 cm on the outer side of the thigh). For this a surgical mesh was used to close and stitch the skin on the thigh. Anti-inflammatory medication was administered intravenously, in high doses, as well as preventative antibiotics, which helped Bautista to have a more comfortable night. This morning (Thursday), after a further check by the doctor, Bautista underwent his first session of physiotherapy, during which he was in characteristically high spirits.

A two to three day hospital stay is anticipated by the hospital, with medication and intensive physiotherapy to avoid complications and aid a speedy recovery.

Source: MotoGP  Official Website