INTERVIEW
2014 WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPION SYLVAIN GUINTOLI
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His late season hunt of the formerly dominant
Kawasaki and Tom Sykes combo saw him win all
six-head-to-head fights against the 2013 champi-
on in the last three rounds.
His double win at Losail was an unearthly, tran-
scendental, thing to witness. Twelve points be-
hind Sykes before race day, his growth from good
World Superbike
rider to deserv-
ing champion was
played out on the
widescreen of an
artificially lit Qatari
desert evening.
And those that
witnessed it – his
family, a paddock
full of friends and
a bunch of new fans at home – realized that his
double win and six-point margin of ultimate victory
had been something special.
Living in the UK as he has done for years (al-
though he once firmly told me "My flag is still
French…" when the subject came up) Guintoli has
a distinctive and engaging accent.
Tinged with his southern French roots, polished
by a degree of middle class Englishness and a
healthy dose of 'street' from his adopted Midlands
location, it makes for a brilliant gamut of expres-
sion, and three accent changes per sentence.
Sharper and
even wittier in his
adopted language
than many racers
are in their own,
he is a popular
World Superbike
title winner. The
neutrals' favorite
maybe?
Just before he swapped his championship-win-
ning Aprilia for his new Honda ride for the 2015
season, he sat in the Spanish sunshine during
winter testing and spoke about how his long-held
ambition to be world champion had finally been
achieved.
"For me beating him gives me more credit
to the title. It is not like I just took it from
anybody. He was the World Champion, he was
strong, and he did not make any mistakes all
year. It was really hard to go and get him."
It was a battle
between Aprilia
and Kawasaki
all season and
coming from
behind to beat
Tom Sykes was
no easy feat.
