Hopkins fired up to bounce back in Jerez

The Kawasaki rider struggled for pace during the night race, going on to finish in a distant 12th position.

And although Hopkins is still not completely recovered from a muscular injury sustained in a crash in Australia in January, the American is convinced he will do better this weekend in Spain.

"The abductor muscle I tore at Phillip Island in January still isn't completely fixed but everything's going okay and I've been training hard," said Hopkins. "I've been in Miami, the sun's been out and I've been taking care of myself before Jerez.

"We've had some more MRI scans done, which show the injury is still definitely there, unfortunately, but it's not been keeping me from working on my fitness.

"Despite the muscle problem, I really feel 100% ready for the race and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm definitely going to improve on the position I got at Qatar. We'll work on tyre choice and a good set up and it'll be great to head back to Europe to race."

Teammate Anthony West is also looking to achieve a better result in Jerez following a poor weekend in Qatar, where he finished over a minute behind the race winner in 16th place.

"I really wasn't happy with my performance at Qatar," West said. "Riding around at the back isn't why I'm here and I need to get it together. My confidence was shot when I crashed a couple of times and, after that, I never really found my pace.

"My main aim is essentially to raise my game. I need to have more faith in the bike and the set-up, especially when it comes to turning it in to the corners. This is a weak spot for me, of sorts.

"Still, I'm really looking forward to the Jerez race. I really want to prove myself and I'm hoping this is where I can start doing that."