Guintoli hoping for home crowd boost

The Frenchman, who sensationally led his home grand prix in the wet on a Dunlop-shod Yamaha a year ago, admits he is struggling to come to terms with the Ducati after a difficult start to the season.

"I think what's gone on is that the Ducati is a very fast bike, as we saw in Shanghai, but it needs a very special riding style," said Guintoli. "This process of learning is taking a lot more time than we thought.

"So we are working on it and we are working really hard, and hopefully we can have a lot of fun this weekend and I can start to enjoy myself on the bike again.

"For sure it was better in Shanghai, we were not as slow. Also, the feeling was better, but here is a track I quite like, especially since it has been modified so, yeah I hope I can find the joy again with the support of the home crowd.

"At the minute we don't concentrate on the result. We are just trying to improve, but with what happened last year obviously I would like to do something special."