Grapevine: Liuzzi, Hopkins to Swap Roles

Suzuki MotoGP rider John Hopkins is to get a taste of Formula One machinery with a test in a Red Bull Racing car next month, Autosport-Atlas has learned

Jul 31, 2005, 5:39 PM

The American, who is sponsored by Red Bull, will join Vitantonio Liuzzi at a special promotional event at Snetterton - where Liuzzi will get to ride his Suzuki bike.

Red Bull Racing's Christian Horner claimed that both men had jumped at the possibility of checking out each other's machinery.

"John is going to drive our car," Horner told Autosport-Atlas. "We are going to do a seat swap with Liuzzi riding a MotoGP bike and John driving one of our cars.

"Tonio is a big fan of bikes now. He recently did a track day at Silverstone and he has fallen completely in love with bike racing - he is a converted fan."

When asked whether that meant there was a chance Liuzzi could follow his passion and chase a career in bike racing, Horner said: "No, no, no. There is no chance of that."