As reported by bikesportnews.com at the weekend, former WorldSBK Champ Sylvain Guintoli will stand-in for the injured Alex Rins at the Le Mans MotoGP round.

Rins broke his wrist in a free practice crash at Austin and has been ruled out of action for at least the next two races. Suzuki test rider Takuya Tsuda will ride the Ecstar GSX-RR at Jerez this weekend before Frenchman Guintoli - who currntly champions a Bennetts-backed GSX-R1000 in BSB - jumps in for his home race.

“First, I would like to thank Suzuki for giving me this fantastic opportunity. Being able to ride the GSX-RR, currently one of the fastest racing machine in the world is a very exciting prospect, let alone at my home race in front of the French fans,” said Guintoli.

“The ‘Le Mans Grand Prix’ brings back a lot of strong memories, the best one of course was leading the MotoGP race for a few laps in 2007. This is going to be a very difficult challenge, adapting to the very powerful prototype MotoGP machine and the Michelin tires, but my main goal is to enjoy the experience and give 100% commitment to the Team SUZUKI ECSTAR. The test on Tuesday will give us some time to adapt and to start understanding this amazing motorcycle. Finally, I want to wish a very good recovery to Alex.”