MotoGP Test Rider Guintoli to Join WorldSBK

Suzuki MotoGP test rider Sylvain Guintoli has indicated that talks to rejoin WorldSBK and to stay in the Endurance World Championship are ongoing. Guintoli’s contract with Suzuki will expire after this season. He last competed in WorldSBK for Puccetti Kawasaki during the final two rounds of 2017.

Guintoli’s contract as Suzuki’s official MotoGP test rider and World Endurance competitor will both expire when the Japanese company discontinued all motorcycle racing owing to financial issues.

Guintoli has been a significant factor in Suzuki’s continuous success on the Endurance stage. He rides for Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki alongside Gregg Black and former MotoGP rider Xavier Simeon, and the trio currently leads the 2022 championship standings after two rounds.

However, after assisting in the development of a GSX-RR that Joan Mir used to win the world championship in 2020, his test rider job in MotoGP has become as important.

Given his success and expertise, the French rider is likely to have several options for switching manufacturers, but the championship he competes in might be unexpected.

After recent discussions at Donington Park, Guintoli, who is 40 years old, has not ruled out the idea of returning to WorldSBK.

Guintoli said, “I have to find out what is possible for me. There are interesting opportunities as a test rider, but I also believe that I can still be competitive in the Superbike or Endurance World Championships and I’m looking around there.”

Guintoli, an Aprilia rider who won the WorldSBK title in 2014, has demonstrated enough speed in his MotoGP wildcard appearances to suggest that he might perform better than some of the current Superbike racers.

It is anticipated that Joan Mir will join Repsol Honda soon after Alex Rins, who will replace Alex Marquez at LCR Honda since he has joined Gresini Ducati for the 2023 MotoGP season, has already been announced there.

Following the announcement that Suzuki wanted to quit MotoGP, Mir, who, like Rins, had his early championship challenge derailed by DNFs, will take the position of Pol Espargaro, who is most likely to rejoin KTM via its Tech 3 team.