By Julian Shea

Hopkins is tipped for great things this season

Valentino Rossi and a small group of rivals have dominated MotoGP racing in recent years, but if John Hopkins has his way, that will change in 2005.

The Anglo-American Suzuki rider says the old order could be in for an upset this season, and he could be one of the people to do it.

After two years of struggling, many people say this could be the year "Hopper" hits the big time, and he agrees.

"I think there'll be a lot of changes up front this year," he told BBC Sport.

"Valentino and Sete Gibernau will be there of course, but the young talent like myself, Nicky Hayden and Marco Melandri will be challenging a lot more."

At 21, Hopkins is the youngest rider in the class, but these are not just the idle boasts of youthful optimism.

Rivals such as Shane Byrne have tipped Hopkins to make the big break-through this season, and Suzuki's pre-season testing results have added more weight to his case.

"For the last three years I've been on less than competitive machines," Hopkins said.

The team know what they have as far as talent on the track is concerned, so they knew what they had to do to get it better John Hopkins

"But this year, we're right at the top of the sheets in pre-season testing, so top five finishes will be acceptable, but I won't be really happy unless I'm on the podium."

In his three previous MotoGP campaigns - one with Yamaha and two with Suzuki - Hopkins has finished 15th, 17th and 16th.

Despite a lack of highly-placed finishes, Suzuki have stuck by Hopkins and team-mate Kenny Roberts Jr for a third successive season.

Choosing to retain the riders is a clear sign of faith, and one which Hopkins appreciates.

"The team know what they have as far as talent on the track is concerned, so they knew what they had to do to get it better - fortunately that's just what Paul has done.

"The team could have taken more money to have a Spanish or Italian rider but they've decided to just go with their own money and have me ride for them again."

Instead, Suzuki have shaken up the team's organisation.

Former team boss Gary Taylor has gone and been replaced by Suzuki's British Superbike team chief Paul Denning.

Last year, former British Superbikes rider Denning led the Crescent Rizla Suzuki team to the category's manufacturer and rider titles.

This persuaded Suzuki to give him a chance in MotoGP, and Hopkins has noticed his impact straight away.

"He's made it a lot more like a family. Communication between the Japanese and British parts of the team is a lot better, everything's more professional.

"Suzuki seems to be taking things a lot more seriously now."