Guintoli, Lowes expect to be back for Misano round
Yamaha's World Superbike riders Sylvain Guintoli and Alex Lowes are both confident of returning from injury in time for the next round at Misano.
Alex Lowes, Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team
John Rowley
Former champion Guintoli fractured his ankle in a highside crash in Superpole 2 at Imola.
The Frenchman, who has been forced to skip three rounds as a result of the injury already, said his recovery should be complete by Misano.
"That [returning at Misano] is my aim. I've had surgery, it was actually quite a simple break," said Guintoli.
"The surgeon in England did a fantastic job, because the first two weeks of recovery have been going really well. So I think I'll be soon able to walk and getting back for Misano shouldn't be too much of a problem.
"I'm trying my best anyway to get back as soon as possible and I want to be 100 percent fit before I ride the bike."
Lowes: "I wasn't sure if I could do six laps"
Guintoli's teammate Alex Lowes broke his clavicle in Race 2 at Sepang, the Briton suffering his third retirement of the season.
He was set to return on home soil, having taken part in free practice, but opted against continuing after FP3 as he didn't feel fit enough to complete the races.
"I wasn't feeling enough to do 23 laps so there is no point of riding around for two or three laps and pulling in," explained Lowes.
"This weekend there was no chance, I wasn't sure if I could even do six laps."
"The bike felt really good here I just wasn't fit enough and I realized this morning it is impossible so there is no point."
"It should be okay by then [Misano] I'm gonna have a couple of weeks to get fit.
"I thought I was gonna ride this weekend but I don't know, the nature of the track didn't help and there was quite a lot of trauma in the shoulder."
Following Lowes' withdrawal, reigning MotoAmerica champion and WSBK debutant Cameron Beaubier, who was chosen to stand in for Guintoli, was Yamaha's only factory entrant for the Donington races.
Having qualified ninth, the 23-year-old secured 10th in Race 2 after crashing out of Saturday's opening race.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments