Source: Supplied.

Pata Yamaha’s Sylvain Guintoli is on track to make his return to Superbike World Championship action at Laustizring after completing two tests aboard the YZF-R1.

Guintoli has been sidelined since he crashed heavily at Imola in April, sustaining an ankle fracture that required him to undergo surgery.

Following a recent test at Laustizring, Yamaha held another test at Magny-Cours in France this week, enabling Guintoli to gain comfort before his racing return.

“It was good to be able to do a few laps here today, for me it was the next step to be able to get back up to speed,” Guintoli explained. “We actually got up to speed quite quickly and found a good feeling straight away on the Magny-Cours track. I really like this circuit and have been looking forward to coming back here.

“Getting back on the race bike at Lausitzring was a little different as I had no reference but here I know the track so well, I like riding it, and I know what kind of lap times I can do here, so it was good to be back up to speed quickly and it just felt like everything is in the right place.”

The Laustizring, Germany, round of WorldSBK will take place in a fortnight’s time on 16-18 September. It’s already been announced that Michael van der Mark will replace Guintoli at Yamaha in 2017.