The Snetterton round of the ViSK.com British Superbike Championship will be a big weekend for Michael Rutter, who is aiming to secure the Worx Suzuki seat vacated by Sylvain Guintoli for the long term.

The French star could be sidelined for the remainder of the season due to his Donington injuries and Rutter is planning to prove he should be the man to ride the factory-backed GSX-R1000 until Guintoli can return.

Rutter qualified fourth, then rode to a pair of fifth place finishes on his Crescent debut at Thruxton, a solid performance which team manager Jack Valentine wants him to build on by claiming podium finishes this weekend.

“We're looking to pick up from where we left off at Thruxton,” he said. “There, Michael was able show what he could do by simply cocking his leg over the machine. With no prior testing or training he took up a front row start and secured two top-five results. This weekend we again expect to see front row qualifying but this time followed by podium finishes.

"The Worx Crescent Suzuki team is a professional squad and so both Suzuki and all the sponsors rightfully expect top results. For Michael to stay with the team he has to supply those,” Valentine underlined. “That sounds tough talk, but that's what this is all about and Michael knows that too.

“For his part he's well placed to get those results. He's now had two weeks riding his own 2009 GSX-R1000 - in the Isle of Man TT races - so he should be better attuned to how to get the best from it. We're confident of him stepping up to the next level at Snetterton.”

Rutter confirmed that he is under no illusions as to what is expected from him.

“There's no question this is an important weekend for me, it's about securing this ride for the rest of the season,” he said. “The reality is you have to do your job, go as good as you can and make sure you're giving nothing less than 100%. And get the results. As Jack said, this weekend needs to be signed off with the records showing front row starts and podium finishes.”