Guintoli delighted with top ten slot

The satellite Ducati squad have struggled all year, with Guintoli and teammate Toni Elias generally qualifying on the back two rows.

But Guintoli showed better pace in practice at Assen, and proceeded to earn a top ten start for the first time since joining the Alice team from Tech 3 Yamaha.

"It's been a good weekend so far," Guintoli told the official MotoGP website.

"This qualifying was actually a little bit more difficult than I thought. The lack of grip at the start of the session after the rain this morning made it feel really weird and I lost my feeling a little bit. But then at the end of the session the track improved and it went better."

The Frenchman added that the Assen qualifying result had come as a major morale boost. The Frenchman had qualified 12th in the wet at Donington Park last week, but his best starting position in a dry session was 15th in Barcelona.

"So far I'm having a lot of fun, and that's been rare this season," said Guintoli. "I've had a good first two days and now I've got a good position on the grid - my best qualifying of the year and in the dry this time.

"It's good - we're getting better and I'm enjoying myself on the bike. The Netherlands has been really brilliant for us so far."

Guintoli's best result of the season so far was 11th position at Mugello, although his teammate Elias managed an eighth place in China.