Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli has set Phillip Island alight with a new lap record in practice at the World Superbikes event on Friday.
The Yamaha rider clocked a best lap of one minute 30:865 seconds in Friday’s second practice session to shaved 0.084 seconds off the previous record set by Welsh racer Chaz Davies two years ago.
Guintoli – the 2014 world champion – navigated the 12-corner, 4.445 kilometre track with aplomb to eclipse Brit Tom Sykes’ first session benchmark of 1:31.543.
Honda’s Michael van der Mark (1:31:249) sits second overall on Friday, with the Dutchman ahead of Kawasaki pair Jonathan Rea (1:31:324) and Sykes after two hard-fought 60-minute sessions on the Victorian track.
Ducati’s Mick Jones was the quickest Australian in 15th, with the top 18 riders from Friday’s combined practice sessions to compete for the main event Superpole over the weekend.