News from Steller Motorsport this morning that the Spa Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 winners will have a new and interesting signing for the season finale at Portimao.
41 year old Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli will make his international sportscar race debut in Portugal, but he has no little heritage, including at Le Mans, on two wheels rather than four.
Guintoli’s motorcycle race cv is extensive and studded with success.
A veteran of 47 500cc Moto GPs with a further 81 starts in the 250cc class between 2000 and 2019, he scored World Championship success in Superbikes in 2014 with Aprilia, a season that saw him score 5 overall race wins and a further 11 podiums.
That title year came in a Superbikes World Championship run that went from 2009 – 2017 with a total of 11 race wins and 33 additional podium results
There has been significant success too in two wheel endurance racing with Sylvain part of the 2021 FIM Endurance World Championship trio for Suzuki, a Championship result that included the second of a back-to back pair of wins at the 24H Moto at Le Mans.
The #42 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 though is a different world, but after his first test in the GT3 car, Guintoli was buzzing with enthusiasm.
“I’ve been racing at a national level to get to this point with my International license and was expecting the car to be good but this was another level entirely.
“The GT3 is fantastic to drive, very impressive indeed. The Steller team and their Pro driver Sennan Fielding have been super-professional in helping me to get the very best out of my time testing. I can’t wait for Portimao.”
More details in due course but DSC is aware that a programme is already planned with Steller for Guintoli in 2024 – Could that involve a push to take a win at Le Mans on four wheels as well as two? Watch this space…
Pics of Sylvain copyright David Reygondeau
