Worx Suzuki's Sylvain Guintoli says he was playing a waiting game during today's British Superbike qualifying at Donington Park hoping that one fresh tyre at the end of the session would be enough.

The French former MotoGP star says he knew qualifying would be tough and he was only sixth quickest at the end of the first knock-out session but his tyre gamble, carried out with only minutes to spare, paid off.

“We’ve progressed a lot over the two days of practice and qualifying. In our first practice yesterday our best was 1:33.3. Today we’re over two seconds a lap quicker," said Guintoli.

"Again we worked on our settings overnight and came up with something that felt very good. We knew the roll-for-pole would be a tough one so we held back in the early stages – I was only sixth fastest in the second session – but that allowed us a fresh tyre for the end.

"The team were so professional, I came in with seconds to spare to get that last flying lap and I had everything I needed. We could have had that pole but I made a few mistakes – but I am not unhappy, we are ready for the races."
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