Monday at Phillip Island marks Sylvain Guintoli’s return to action following his Jerez testing accident in January. Due to a traction control issue, the Pata Honda World Superbike Team rider was thrown off his machine at Jerez’s Turn 1, landing hard.

Following the crash, the Frenchman was assessed in London. Although an ankle injury has now subsided, Guintoli is still suffering discomfort elsewhere.

“I need to be on the bike to see how it feels,” Guintoli explained ahead of Phillip Island testing on Monday morning. “The crash was a big one. There is some damage to the spine, so it is taking a long time to recover, but I am getting better every day. We’ll have to see how I feel on the bike.

“At Phillip Island you take a lot of wind to the back of you all the time. Hopefully it’s not too bad and I have no problem riding the bike, but for now it doesn’t hurt.”

On both Monday and Tuesday, the World Superbike riders will have two individual sessions of two hours. On Day 1 the first phase will start at 11:10am local time.