What next for Hopper?
"Coulda, woulda, shoulda counts for nothing in MotoGP."
The comments of John Hopkins in our qualifying show on Saturday, as he reflected on the free-practice accident that ruled him out of racing as a wildcard at Brno, could have applied to a number of riders by the time the chequered flag fell on Sunday afternoon.
A crash for Dani Pedrosa and a poor tyre choice by Jorge Lorenzo allowed Casey Stoner to make it back-to-back wins at Laguna Seca and Brno, opening up a 32-point lead at the top of the championship in the process.
Before those races, Stoner's advantage stood at 15 points, a lead that could easily have been cut to 10 or even six by the time we left the USA had it not been for the diminishing physical fitness of the ailing Lorenzo and Pedrosa in the latter stages of that race.
Hi, I'm Matt Roberts and I present the BBC's coverage of the MotoGP World Championship, a series I've been reporting on since 2001, and the NFL. You can follow me on 
