World Superbike News

Leon Haslam - Stiggy Honda - Assen 2009

Leon Haslam will be the only rider on the grid for the Stiggy Honda World Superbike team for the ultimate three rounds of the Championship.

After John Hopkins was forced to retire for the remainder of the season after suffering an horrendous accident at the Nurburgring at the beginning of the month.  Hopkins had returned to the grid after recuperating from his big crash at Assen where he broke his hip and was side-lined for the next four rounds.  However, at the German circuit, the Honda rider was completely run over during a multi-crash, leaving him with further hip problems and a bleed to the brain.  He has since had surgery on the shoulder and wrist  and has had fluid drained from his hip and will return for a brain scan next month.

The team decided not to replace Hopkins on the grid after suffering with their own financial worries and will go it alone with Haslam for the last three rounds.

The team have also let their Supersport rider Gianluca Vizziello go, after failing to deliver the results they had expected plus the situation with the economic crisis, leaving Anthony West as the only Stiggy Supersport rider for the remainder of the Championship.