Back-Row Charge Highlights Fighting Thruxton Weekend for Hopkins

Luca Hopkins produced one of the standout drives of the 1pMobile National Junior Sportbike Championship season at Thruxton, charging from the back of the grid to lead on the final lap of Saturday's opening race before finishing just half a second from victory.

The Team SBR powered by DKS Direct Drilling rider demonstrated front-running pace throughout the weekend at the high-speed Hampshire circuit, battling inside the leading group across both races as the championship fight continued to intensify.

Friday's only free practice session saw Luca finish eighth fastest with a lap of 1:25.596. The timesheets highlighted just how competitive the field would be, with less than 1.1 seconds covering the top eight riders.

Qualifying on Saturday morning proved frustrating. Luca improved from a 1:24.893 on his opening run to a 1:24.701 after returning to the circuit during the closing stages, but with another improvement looking likely, the session was brought to an early end by a red flag. The interruption left him eighth on the grid, just 0.723 seconds away from Ben Jolliffe's pole position.

Saturday's opening race then took another unexpected turn before the lights had even gone out.

An issue on the grid forced Luca to start from the very back of the 23-rider field, leaving him with almost the entire grid ahead as the race got underway.

Undeterred, the Yorkshire rider immediately began carving his way through the pack. Five riders were dispatched before the field had even exited Seagrave, and by the end of the opening lap he had already climbed to 13th.

The recovery continued at an astonishing rate. Luca set what was then the fastest lap of the race on lap four before moving into the top ten at half distance. He followed that by overtaking teammate Isaac Mark, then swept past Luca Wilkinson and FIM Women's Circuit Racing World Championship rider Chloe Jones through the Club chicane.

As the closing stages approached, the race swung firmly in Luca's favour. A mistake from championship leader Marley Mackenzie promoted him to sixth before further moves on Arnie Carr and Mason Johnson brought him onto the tail of the leading trio of Laken Payne, Ben Jolliffe and Lewis Mullen.

Having started from the back of the grid just nine laps earlier, Luca remarkably hit the front on the run down the back straight as four riders battled for victory on the final lap.

The fight continued all the way through Club, where the slipstream shuffled the order one final time. Luca crossed the finish line fourth, just 0.522 seconds behind race winner Payne after one of the closest finishes of the season.

"P4 from the back of the grid isn't a bad result. We had an issue before the start which meant I had to line up right at the back, so to fight all the way through the field and lead down the back straight on the final lap shows the pace we had.

"It's frustrating to get that close and miss out on the podium, but I'm really pleased with the recovery and the way we managed the race."

The pace shown during Race One earned Luca a front-row start for Sunday's second encounter after setting the second-fastest lap of the race.

Another difficult getaway saw him lose several positions into the opening corners, but he remained firmly in contention as a tightly packed leading group formed. With slipstreaming playing such a significant role around Thruxton, positions changed almost every lap as as many as nine riders fought for the lead.

Luca briefly dropped as low as seventh before beginning another recovery, passing Mackenzie and climbing back to fourth with two laps remaining. He started the final lap in third, but another frantic run through the Club chicane saw him shuffled wide as the leading group fought over the remaining podium places.

He crossed the line eighth on the road before a two-second penalty for Laken Payne promoted him to seventh in the final classification, just 1.365 seconds behind race winner Lewis Mullen.

"It's been a bit of a crazy weekend, but I think we can be pleased with the pace we've shown.

"Saturday was probably the highlight. Starting from the back wasn't ideal, but I just got my head down, kept picking riders off and managed to put myself in a position to fight for the win.

"Sunday was a proper Thruxton race. The lead group was so competitive that positions were changing constantly, and I managed to work my way back into third going onto the final lap. Unfortunately, I came off worse in the fight through the final chicane.

"We've shown we've got the pace to fight at the front, which gives us plenty of confidence heading into the final round. A huge thank you to everyone at Team SBR powered by DKS Direct Drilling, all of my sponsors and everyone who continues to support me."

Luca leaves Thruxton third in the championship on 253 points, just 10 points behind Ben Jolliffe in second and 44 adrift of championship leader Marley Mackenzie. With one round remaining at Donington Park, the battle for the championship podium remains firmly alive.