Good start for Guintoli on first day of Dutch practice

Alice Team´s Sylvain Guintoli and Toni Elias, the Spaniard a crasher in practice at Assen on his last two visits, react to Thursday´s outings on the opening day in Northern Holland.

Sylvain Guintoli - twelfth

`This has been my best first day of the season on a dry surface. I feel really comfortable on my bike thanks to the modifications we have made on the front end. We are really close to the fastest riders. Tomorrow we should concentrate to improve the race pace. I registered my best lap time with the hardest tyres used today. Probably we will use them also in the race and this gives me good confidence. I hope to have a good qualifying tomorrow, to be able to start in the best way possible in the race.´

Toni Elias - seventeenth

`I am happy the day is over. Today I started with a lot of caution for the reasons that everyone knows. In the first five laps I rode really slowly on the corner where I fell last year to build up some confidence. But from the second session I started again to give my best. We have solve some problems that have impeded us, but we believe we can improve tomorrow to increase our performance and be competitive in the race.´