SylvainGuintoli

Guintoli was born Montélimar, France, and first competed internationally in the 250 World Championship in 2000, with 2001 his first full season. He moved up to MotoGP for 2007 and 2008, almost always finishing in the points and a highlight being a 4^th place finish in Motegi, before moving down briefly to the British Superbike Championship. After starting well with a 1^st and 2^nd in his first two outings, Guintoli was sidelined for much of the middle of the season after sustaining serious injuries in a controversial collision with Josh Brookes. For 2010, he moved to WorldSBK with Suzuki and finished his rookie year a respectable 7^th, then spent two years with Ducati, ending 2011 and 2012 6^th and 7^th respectively, including recording his first race wins. For 2013, Guintoli moved to Aprilia and became a podium regular, finishing 3^rd in the Championship before preparing a serious title challenge for the year after. In 2014, he overcame the challenge of Sykes and Kawasaki through consistency, crowned champion in the last race of the season. 2015 saw him ride another new bike in a move to Ten Kate Honda, proving a difficult year, before he signed for Pata Yamaha on the Japanese manufacturer’s return to WorldSBK in 2016.