Jake Zemke to fill in for Hopper at Monza

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Monza preview : Zemke to replace Hopkins in Monza

American Formula Extreme Champion Jake Zemke will get a chance to ride in a World Superbike race after the Stiggy Racing Honda squad confirmed that he will replace the injured John Hopkins at the Monza race this weekend.

Stiggy team boss Johan Stigefelt was left with a headache after the recent injury to relatively new signing Hopkins

"After only four laps into the opening practice session in Assen, Stiggy Racing Honda rider John Hopkins high-sided off his bike and sustained serious injuries. The session was red-flagged while John Hopkins was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a dislocated left hip. He will return to the USA to undergo further treatment. A blow in the face for the Stiggy Racing Team and their new arrival, who made his second appearance for the team in Assen this weekend."

but the ambitions of both team and Zemke have now been married up for the Monza race, although the fast American cannot ride at Kyalami the following weekend due to a clash with his existing AMA series commitments.

If, and only if, Hopkins in unfit to race at the Miller Motorsports Park round at the end of May, Zemke is also down to substitute for Hopkins.

For rider and team the choice of Zemke ticks a lot of pre-race boxes. Jake has made no secret of his desire to try his hand at World Superbike and heaped praise on both the Stiggy team, his own Erion Honda squad in America and WSB as a series in his pre-race comments.

Jake Zemke, WSBK:

" I am extremely excited to race for the Stiggy Racing Honda team this weekend. They have a first rate team and have had some excellent results. I would like to wish Hopper a quick recovery and thank him and the team for the opportunity to make my first World Superbike start. I also have to thank my current team, Erion Honda and my sponsors for their support.

The WSBK Championship is the most competitive championship there is, and making my start in the series is the next step in my career. I have been succesful racing on America, but am really looking forward to joining the World Superbike paddock. The field is very fast and deep. The Monza track has a deep history of racing, and I know how passionate the Italian people are about racing. I know the odds will be against us, learning a new bike, new track, new tires, but I will give it my all at Monza for the Stiggy Racing Honda team ".

some information about Jake Zemke

Jake Zemke was born to race motorcycles. While known for his carefree, friendly nature—you’ll usually hear his lighthearted laughter in the paddock—Jake is always a serious threat to the podium.

DIRT RACING TO ROAD RACING

Winner of the 2006 Daytona 200, Jake has also finished top-three in 11 championships; he’s a four-time runner-up in the AMA Formula Xtreme series (twice in an open displacement class and two more times in 600cc) and has won three AMA Superbike races, two Supersport races, and 12 Formula Xtreme races in the last decade.


Born in San Francisco in 1975, Jake, a.k.a. Earthquake or JZ, started riding at the age of six. He spent weekends as a kid on dirt tracks. “I grew up racing flat track, but I always wanted to transition to road racing,” Jake says. And transition he did. Jake had one of his best seasons ever in 2008 when he took home his first AMA Formula Xtreme Championship title and finished second overall in the AMA Supersport series.


As a result of his capturing the Formula Xtreme title, Jake was nominated for the AMA SPEED Athlete of the Year award, the highest honor bestowed on an AMA pro motorcycle racer. Always the optimist, he says, “I’m really fortunate to be making a living riding a motorcycle.” And as anyone who knows him can tell you, Jake is focused on taking the 2009 season by storm. “I’m always shooting for the top,” he says with a smile.