Hopkins 'upset', Suzuki 'massively disappointed'.

One of the most disappointed teams in the MotoGP paddock on Sunday evening was Suzuki MotoGP - and arguably no rider, Sete Gibernau aside, was as frustrated at the end of the 27 lap race as their rider John Hopkins.

Hopper came into the event chasing his first podium, or a top five finish at the very least, but the GSV-R just wasn't capable and he eventually crossed the line in 14th place - the same position team-mate Kenny Roberts Jr had retired from 17 laps earlier.

"I felt the bike make a sudden, unexpected movement and knew straight away that I would have to come in. Up till that point the bike felt ok," said Kenny later.

Starting from 11th on the grid, Hopkins clashed with D'Antin Ducati rider Roberto Rolfo and was relegated back down the field to 15th at the end of the first lap. The 'flu struck Anglo-American then fought his wind sensitive machine for the remainder of the race.

"I'm really upset with today's race as it's not where I wanted to finish," he admitted. "All that said and done though, I am pleased to have finished the first race of the season with some points.

"We did have a few problems with the wind and I could have gone with harder tyres - but that was my choice because I wanted to use the softer compound Bridgestone race tyres," he added. "Portugal is now 100 per cent in my sights and we have to take all the positives from this race and funnel them into next weekend."

"It was a massively disappointing race for both riders, especially after such good potential was shown in the tests," confessed new team manager Paul Denning. "John got bumped on the start line and wasn't able to pass other riders in these conditions. He showed his commitment by racing through the wind and with his illness to give Team Suzuki MotoGP its first points of the season.

"Kenny had bad luck with an electrical fault that caused him to retire when he was in a point scoring position. His effort has been great all weekend, I know how disappointed he is not to have been able to at least score some points," he added. "We will now sit down and assess all events from this weekend and make sure that we act on them for the next race, and more importantly for the races after that."