News

2014 WorldSBK Champion Sylvain Guintoli is set to continue his time of recovery through Round 9 of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Laguna Seca, and Italian rider Niccolo Canepa will ride once again in place of injured the Frenchman.

The 2014 Champion suffered a highside crash at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari at Imola, with Canepa getting the call to stand in for Guintoli at Misano and impressing since having stepped in. In addition, the Italian has ridden at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on five occasions in his career thus far, on both WorldSBK and MotoGP machinery, and looks forward to the sixth.

Teammate Alex Lowes is also eagerly heading to Laguna Seca and is in better health than recent Rounds after his collarbone-breaking crash in Sepang, with the Brit as keen as his temporary teammate to get back out on track and pit the 3.6km legendary venue against the new YZF-R1.

"I really love the Laguna circuit, it's a real thrill to race there and you never quite get used to 'The Corkscrew' no matter how many times you ride it!” said Lowes. “I'm really excited about being in a better shape physically than I have been at the last two rounds, to take advantage of the recent steps forward we have made with the Yamaha."

"I'm very excited to race again with the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team,” added Canepa on his opportunity to race the YZF R1 once again. “I had a great weekend in Misano at the debut, and I'm sure I can try to do a better result in Laguna. After the Misano tests I feel more comfortable on the YZF-R1 and really enjoyed discovering the latest improvements. I literally love the Laguna circuit and the atmosphere of the US round, so I'm 100% motivated and ready!"

Action kicks off on Friday 8^th July as the Pata Yamaha squad head out to face the Corkscrew, with Race 1 and Race 2 set for Saturday and Sunday at 14:30 local time (GMT -7), respectively.