Tyre wear fix priority for Guintoli

Sylvain Guintoli says mastering the Crescent Pata Yamaha's tyre wear is critical for a successful race weekend after the issue wrecked his results last time out at Aragon.

The 2014 World Superbike champion stunned the paddock in qualifying at round three in Spain by taking second on the grid, with his team-mate Alex Lowes in third, to prove the Yamaha YZF-R1's outright speed over a single lap in World Superbike trim.

However, his joy couldn't be replicated in the races as Guintoli badly struggled with tyre wear and duly dropped down the order, finishing ninth in race one and tenth in race two.

Looking towards round four at Assen, Guintoli feels his team must get on top of its tyre woes over race distances before he can focus on translating the qualifying speed into a race pace.

"In Arag?n we made a step forward with the YZF-R1's raw speed," Guintoli said. "This showed in Superpole by securing second place with a lap that was faster than the existing lap record and in race one I was able to stay with the leader for a few laps so the raw lap times are good.

"Consistency and tyre wear management will be our priority in Assen, a track I very much enjoy and where I have been successful in the past, so I'm looking forward to the weekend."

Guintoli has claimed race wins at Assen with Ducati and Aprilia and will be hoping to transfer his skills with the Yamaha to impress the team's factory backers who are based in Holland on the outskirts of Amsterdam.