Last week we promoted the new YouTube channel set up by WorldSBK Champion, MotoGP rider, honorary Brit and all-round good egg Sylvain Guintoli where he thrashes out some swift laps on a Suzuki GSX-R1000R to show how rapid a standard road bike is in the right hands.
The Frenchman went from house to circuit at Donington Park and Oulton Park on Suzuki’s flagship sportsbike before pumping in some impressively rapid lap times.
In fact, at Donington Park he was only eight seconds shy of Scott Redding’s British Superbike Championship pole winning time from 2019 despite the stock tyres and all the other gubbins that come with needing to make it road legal. He then rode home.
A lesson in showing just what can be done on a road legal motorcycle by someone who knows how to get their knee down both safely and quickly, we also enjoyed Sylvain’s upbeat and candid style on camera. You can tell why he is regarded as one of motorsport’s genuine good guys.
This week, he’s been at it again (albeit no doubt filmed before lockdown was initiated) with some laps around the short but quick Mallory Park. Only this time he’s got a camera crew filming him… his two daughters, who provide an entertaining commentary as they watch their Dad do what he does best.
It’s been a while since BSB competed at Mallory Park – not since 2010 – but that lap of 54.86s is quicker than either pole-winning for that year and in 2009. Road bikes have come a long way.
As a bonus, he’s also taken a trip to the most iconic British circuit of them all, Cadwell Park, with his wife coming along for the ride this time. We get to see live telemetry with a thrilling on-board and also feel the heart miss a beat as he nearly loses it through the fast turn one (go to 5.40 if you’re impatient…)
