Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 side I like competition. But what I do not like at all is what happened this year. But to have an option to fight for winning enthuses me. I know to be at that level takes a lot of concentration, energy, compromise and dedication you need to put there. This is the point, if I will be able to do it or not. I need to relax a little bit. If you ask me if I want to retire then for sure today is not the best day to ask me. But I think in a few days, especially when I have recovered a little bit from the pain I have now from the crash, then I want to think and consider the offer. It is time for me to consider and take the deci- P35 sion in the next weeks. Honestly, I have not thought so much about the future, but taking a potentially winning option is the only option that I can take to continue. If it is a winning option, I will think about it." Gordon Ritchie GUINTOLI LOSES OUT, SYKES GAINS renchman Sylvain Guintoli ended up being the losing party after the FIM finally handed down the results of Aprilia's appeal against Tom Sykes being awarded third at the Monza World Superbike race in May - when it was claimed he cut the chicane illegally to hold onto third in the final part of the race. Guintoli will go along with the decision, but he is not pleased with it. "As you can imagine I am delighted and we all celebrated last night - had a few beers," Guintoli said sarcastically. "I do not agree with it, that's for sure, and I still do not understand it, and I think everybody knows. Somehow the decision is that way and you have to respect the decision, but I do not agree with it. It makes no difference in how I feel about the championship. If anything it gives me some motivation. I just have to concentrate on scoring the points on the track. Sometimes you need to turn the tap on and that moment is now. We will see, but I think I have it in me so I am going to put up a fight – that is why we race. My shoulder is feel- PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE F Sylvain Guintoli wasn't pleased with the outcome of the FIM's decision to turn back his appeal against Tom Sykes from Monza. ing better." Sykes, on the other hand, feels equally vindicated that the FIM court agreed with him that he had done nothing against the rules that were outlined. "It is what I expected, it is the reason that I went into all the effort," Sykes said. "At the end of the day, I followed the rules that were set out on Thursday and so for me it was quite plain and sim- ple and it seems that somebody else lost something in translation. Overall, it is what I expected. I am happy and grateful that people took time out to analyze the rules and that I had done things in the correct way. We got the point that we had ridden hard for all weekend. I was very surprised that it had been protested and surprised that we had to go all the way to Geneva to settle it. I feel it should not have gone so far. It almost looked a bit amateurish in the end and how long it went and how long it dragged out for. "I am a very kind of fair and sporting man. If I was not 100 percent sure that I had done the correct thing then I would not even have challenged it. Even if I was 95 percent, or I had even one or two percent of doubt, I would not have challenged it. I would have let it go. But the fact is that I had followed the rules, but I may have got punished for it, so that put fire in my belly. All is well, put to bed and we can continue in the championship." Gordon Ritchie

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