---
title: "Guintoli to continue with Suzuki at Mugello"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2017/05/22/guintoli-continue-suzuki-mugello/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "MotoGP News"
published: "2017-05-22T08:11:13Z"
modified: "2017-05-22T08:11:39Z"
---

# Guintoli to continue with Suzuki at Mugello

Suzuki team boss Davide Brivio confirmed following the French Grand Prix that Sylvain Guintoli will continue to deputise for the injured Alex Rins in Mugello in two weeks’ time.

Frenchman Guintoli, who contests the British Superbike Championship with the Bennetts Suzuki outfit, was called into action for his first home MotoGP outing since 2008 after Rins broke his wrist in a crash at the Circuit of the Americas last month.

![Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/05/680435798.jpg)

“Sylvain had a positive debut,” said Brivio

“Also for him the conditions weren’t very friendly since he could only complete one dry session before the race, but he will continue with us in Mugello, so I believe that this experience will pay off in the near future.”

The 2014 World Superbike champion had two days of testing on the GSX-RR at Jerez before coming to Le Mans, but changeable weather throughout Friday and Saturday complicated his weekend, robbing him of crucial set-up time and laps on the unfamiliar Michelin tyres.

Nonetheless, Guintoli impressed, qualifying just 2.1 seconds off the pace and keeping his bike upright in a race of high attrition to claim his first MotoGP points since the 2008 Valencia Grand Prix.

![](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/05/e587d9af-541a-4372-9cd5-c172b46c47be-1.jpg)

The Frenchman had aimed to finish one minute behind the race leader, but missed this target by just six seconds. Despite this, Guintoli was pleased with his performance and enjoyed riding a MotoGP bike in front of his home fans again.

“It’s a nice feeling to score a point in my home race,” he said.

“We didn’t have too much dry time to work here, and at the end I think we did a good job under the circumstances. I really enjoyed riding the GSX-RR around the Le Mans circuit. The public was fantastic. I ended the race not too far off of Andrea, which is a positive thing.

“My goal was to end within one minute from the winner and I almost achieved it. We have to continue working and adapting to the MotoGP riding style, but I really liked working with this team and also racing the Suzuki machine in Le Mans. It’s like a dream come true for me.”