Guintoli surrenders lead after first DNF
Sylvain Guintoli's name has slipped from the top of the World Superbike Championship standings for the first time this season after a costly technical issue saw his original healthy lead demolished by Tom Sykes.
The Frenchman came into the weekend with a sizeable 28 point advantage over Sykes - the largest it had been all season -, only to see 25 points taken out of it in race one when his first retirement of the year coincided with his rival's victory.
Though Guintoli bounced back in race two to finish in third place, with Sykes going on to reel off a double victory ahead, it means the Aprilia rider is down to second place, six points behind the Kawasaki man.
"Race one was disappointing," he said. "Unfortunately at these levels these things can happen. In Race 2 I really pushed as hard as I could. When Eugene crashed I even tried to catch Rea who was in front of me, but I wasn't able to. I'm not really happy with third place, but it was really the most we could get today.
"The season is still far from over. There are tracks like this one and Donington where we're weaker, but there are others where we will definitely be key players. The important thing is never to fall too far behind the leaders."
