Ferraccioli praises Guintoli effort
The race engineer for Team Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati, Luca Ferraccioli, has praised the performance of the team's Sylvain Guintoli, who claimed a podium position in the first race of the season-opening meet at Phillip Island.
Guintoli, who failed to finish the second race after a fall, nevertheless left Australia with a pleasing 16 points to his name.
It was a much improved result for Guintoli at Phillip Island, after his previous visit to the circuit, in 2011, ended with a serious crash and long-term injury.
Speaking to the official SBK site Ferraccioli said, "Sylvain had a fantastic first race, getting on the podium after a battle, elbow to elbow with first Tom Sykes and then Melandri was the best way to start the new season, especially considering the bad crash he had here last year."
Guintoli echoed the words of his engineer, confirming he was very happy with the way things had gone, despite the somewhat tricky conditions.
"I was sliding all over the place near the end but I really enjoyed that first race," he told SBK.com.
"It feels really good to be on the podium. After what happened to me here last year, this is the best reward I could get. It was hard work, but I'm very happy. My team did a great job."
