Aprilia’s Sylvain Guintoli just missed out on the World Superbike pole at Istanbul by two one-hundredths of a second, and the rider said he could have snatched pole from Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes he did not make some errors on his hot lap.

With a gap of just one point from the top spot in the standings, Guintoli had made no secret of his ambitions for this Superpole. Comforted by the times he put on the boards yesterday and after being the fasted rider during the free practice sessions leading up to Superpole, the French rider easily came through the first two sessions.

Guintoli took on his challengers in the top nine, succumbing only to Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes, even admitting that he made a few small mistakes in the fast lap.

“We came really close today. On my last lap I made a few small errors that may have cost me those 22 thousandths. It would have been nice to take the pole, but the most important thing is to start from the front row,” said Guintoli.

“I felt at home on this track straight away and I think tomorrow I’ll be able to aim for two good results. As I already said, the battle for the championship is really getting heated up now, so there should be two exciting races tomorrow on a track which is basically new for everyone”.