Guintoli signs Worx Suzuki deal
Added on Friday, September 11th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Guintoli signs Worx Suzuki deal
French rider Sylvain Guintoli has agreed to ride with Worx Suzuki in the 2010 British Superbike Championship.
The former MotoGP rider has signed a one-year deal with Crescent Suzuki which will see him ride in next season’s championship despite having a nightmare year in 2009.
Guintoli burst onto the scene as an early title contender by winning the first race of the new MotoGP season before a collision with Honda’s Josh Brookes at Donington Park in round three left him with a double leg break that kept him out of action for five rounds, making his return at Cadwell Park a fortnight ago.
But Suzuki, who have run Tommy Hill and Michael Rutter as replacements in his absence, have stood by their sole rider as they look to challenge for the championship in 2010.
“This is the first time in my career I’ve signed a contract this early in the year – I think that shows just how comfortable both sides are with each other,” said Guintoli. “Right now we are working on regaining the competitiveness we showed at the beginning of this season, but as well we know now that the experience that I am gaining at the tracks this year will be something we can carry into next season. With the experience we will have of the tracks, of the GSX-R and of working together as a team we can look forward to next year with a lot of optimism.”
We’re very pleased to have Sylvain back on board for 2010 and to have him signed up so early,” added team manager Jack Valentine. “This allows us to build toward next season as from today, it’s almost a head start.
“But as well, this allows us to now focus on our second objective for the new season. It is our desire to have a young rider partner Sylvain in the Worx Crescent Suzuki team in the 2010 season. There’s no small challenge in making that happen as we’ll need to secure additional backing, but a two-rider team is our intention and will be what we’ll now be focusing on.”
