With a scorecard that reads DNF-13, this weekend's racing from Croft, round 10 of the British Superbike Championship, marks a low point in the season for Worx Crescent Suzuki. However, changes made to chassis for the second race provided a significantly improved set-up that gives the team every reason to be positive about prospects for the final two rounds of the championship.
Sylvain Guintoli:
"This weekend's results are far from ideal. Crashing yesterday in qualifying and my not setting a decent time really didn't help. So we started today's races miles from the front. And in that first race I struggled to get my rhythm; to be honest I was really slow and then I crashed right at the end.
"However, that result convinced us to revert to some of my old settings for the second race. These were quite different from where we've been these last two meetings so it took me a few laps to get a feel for it. But from there on it felt better and better. The result was still rubbish, but my rhythm had come back - I set my fastest lap on the penultimate lap."
Jack Valentine - Team Manger:
"No question, if you're on the outside looking in, this weekend's racing for us looks terrible. Many things didn't work out and Sylvain went into that first race lacking confidence in the bike.
"For the second race we returned to settings from the beginning of the year - from before Sylvain's Donington accident - and this made a significant difference. It took Sylvain a few laps to get dialled into them again but once he did, he got faster and faster. He certainly got his confidence back, which was important after two crashes.
"For us, having gone through this process, we're now feeling very positive and really looking forward to Silverstone. We're putting this weekend down to experience and we've learnt from it. It's a case of onwards and upwards."
Race one result:
1. Stuart Easton (Hydrex Honda) 2. James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha) +0.359s3. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +10.216s4. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +10.967s5. Ian Lowry (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +19.612s6. Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha) +21.436s7. Tommy Hill (Hydrex Honda) +22.380s8. Gary Mason (Quay Garage Honda) +25.776s9. Julien Da Costa (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +31.236s10. Graeme Gowland (Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha) +31.750s
Race two result:
1. Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha) 2. Stuart Easton (Hydrex Honda) +8.788s3. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +11.336s4. James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha) +11.970s5. Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +17.437s6. Tommy Hill (Hydrex Honda) +17.589s7. Ian Lowry (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +18.043s8. Gary Mason (Quay Garage Honda) +25.331s9. Julien Da Costa (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +27.433s10. John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +28.579s13. Sylvain Guintoli (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +29.469s
