Aprilia’s Sylvain Guintoli rode two faultless World Superbike races to be crowned the brand new champion for 2014, and the rider is elated with his title. It was a day of first’s for the Frenchman, as he bagged his debut double victory and won his maiden championship title too.
It was 24 years ago that his fellow countryman won the title, and now the wait is over. Guintoli was feeling the pressure but remained calm and collected going into the final race, where there were initially only three points separating him from Sykes. But in the end it was a six point advantage that Guintoli had, and he couldn’t be happier.
“I feel great because there was a lot of pressure after Laguna Seca and I thought it would be hard to come back to challenge for the title,” sais Guintoli at the Qatari circuit.
“I tried to ride hard and I didn’t give up and I found something in me that I didn’t realise that I really had before and I was riding the bike tonight and it felt amazing.
“The last five laps felt really good but I started to think of something else and then on the last two laps I was chillaxing and I really enjoyed it. The team orders didn’t really affect me at all and it feels good to get the title and I did my first double too.”
