Sylvain Guintoli to run London Marathon in Sonic the Hedgehog leathers for son Luca

Former WorldSBK champion Sylvain Guintoli has revealed his London Marathon tribute leathers in memory of his late son, Luca, who passed away last summer following a nearly year-long battle with cancer. 

A stalwart of the two-wheel racing world over the last decade-plus, Guintoli confirmed he would be running the London Marathon last November. 

He also confirmed he would be doing so in a full one-piece race suit, which features a beautiful Sonic the Hedgehog design in memory of his son, Luca. It also features a charity called PASIC, which supports children with cancer and their families. Guintoli is set to run the London Marathon together with his two daughters, Alicia and Layla. 

A long-time rider for RST, Guintoli’s leather suit is once again custom-made by the British manufacturer. 

Speaking about his participation in the marathon, which takes place on 26 April, Guintoli said this during a social media clip: 

“I’m going to be doing it for a good cause. It’s for children with cancer and their families. A charity called PASIC - it’s on my leathers, and you can see it everywhere. Obviously, the idea there is that my son, Luca, unfortunately passed away last summer following his battle against cancer, and I wanted to do something special to raise some funds for this fantastic charity. So, we’ve got them on the suit and we’ve also got Sonic. 

“The story with Sonic is that Luca’s favourite character was Sonic. He was completely obsessed with it. Sonic can run fast as well so it’s going to be great for the London Marathon.”

Guintoli, who won the Superbike World Championship in 2014 with Aprilia, and the FIM World Endurance title in 2021 with Suzuki, is currently a pundit on the TNT Sports MotoGP coverage team. Guintoli will also contest the 2026 Endurance World Championship with the Japan AutoRace Ube Racing Team.

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