John Hopkins aboard the Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 in 2011 (Photo: Infront Motor Sports)

Even if Hopkins were to impress mightily during a second chance with Suzuki in MotoGP, what are the odds that he'd ever receive legitimate race-winning equipment? It seems unlikely Suzuki will be able to provide it any time in the near-to-mid-term future considering their recent history and budgetary limitations.

And how can anyone outside of the already established elite hope to break in and steal away one of the factory seats at Honda (perhaps reducing from four to two next year), Yamaha, or Ducati, when superstars like Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa, Ben Spies, Andrea Dovizioso, Marco Simoncelli, and Valentino Rossi are already entrenched in those positions? And for the record, while still relatively young at 28, Hopkins is older than all of those riders except for living legend Rossi.

Besides, the MotoGP paddock does not deal in retreads at the factory level. If any outsider is going to be gifted one of those coveted seats any time soon, it will be a rising star from the Grand Prix feeder series, someone like Spanish teenage sensation Marc Márquez.

And MotoGP has no particular political need for Hopkins at the moment, with race-winner Spies, former champion Nicky Hayden, and two-time WSBK champ Colin Edwards there to ably represent the Stars & Stripes.

World Superbike, on the other hand, is in desperate need of a capable American. Ben Spies was supposed to be the answer to that particular quandary, but he proved far too effective towards those aims and went 'won and done' in 2009.

While current AMA fans might be more interested to see someone like reigning AMA Pro Superbike Champion Josh Hayes or current series points leader Blake Young get a shot, Hopkins could be viewed as the ideal candidate in the eyes of Infront Motor Sports.

Already a household name, both in the States and around the world, Hopkins has the history of GP success that generally translates to WSBK superstardom given a proper opportunity. While an abbreviated mid-season attempt at the series in '09 following the evaporation of his GP ride with Kawasaki was less than inspiring, Hopkins is now a seasoned Superbike pilot. Armed with competitive equipment, he could make a convincing attack on the championship in 2012.