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AMA: Hopkins wins Lockhart Phillips 750 Supersport Title

4 October 2000

     PICKERINGTON, Ohio - John Hopkins rode a conservative race and finished

sixth in the final round of the Lockhart Phillips USA 750 SuperSport Series on

Sept. 30 at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, Calif. That finish was all

Hopkins needed to earn the series championship -- the first AMA national title

for the 17-year-old Valvoline EMGO Suzuki rider from Ramona, Calif.

     "I never dreamed I'd be able to win an AMA championship this early in my

career," Hopkins said. "I knew what I had to do today. I was getting signals

from my crew, but I just didn't want to push it at all with the title on the

line. Riding with guys like Jimmy Moore, Damon Buckmaster and my teammate Grant

Lopez in this series has really helped me a lot. I learned something from these

guys almost every week, and it makes me feel proud to win against such

high-quality competition."

     The 750 SuperSport championship was the culmination of an outstanding

season for Hopkins. He started the year with an impressive and unexpected win at

Daytona International Speedway and followed that up with victories at Road

Atlanta and Laguna Seca Raceway. All told, Hopkins earned podium finished in six

of the nine series races in 2000.

     Making Hopkins' run to the title even more impressive was the fact that

this was the youngster's first full season of racing in the AMA professional

ranks. Hopkins made his AMA Pro Racing debut in the 750 SuperSport final at

Loudon, N.H., in 1999 and finished a very respectable fifth. He went on to post

a couple of top-10 finishes in the Pro Honda Oils 600 SuperSport Series last

year.

     Hopkins will defend his title in 2001, again riding for the Valvoline EMGO

Suzuki team again.