de Puniet to race at Phillip Island

Randy de Puniet has confirmed he plans to race in the World Superbike Championship season opener despite his preparations being hampered by a testing crash.

The Frenchman was lapping well prior to suffering a high-side at turn 11, de Puniet coming down hard on his back and requiring a trip to the hospital. Though he returned to the bike on the second day of the test, he completed just a handful of laps.

Nonetheless, with doctors confirming he has broken no bones, de Puniet is resting up and is happy with his recovery so far. As such, though he admits he won't be in peak physical condition, he is still looking forward to making his World Superbike debut.

"I expect to be in a better physical condition after my crash on Monday, it was a big injury but I am recovering well," the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki rider said.

"Unfortunately I didn't achieve what I had planned before the race weekend, working on the bike and the race-simulation, as I only rode 25 laps but the initial feeling with the GSX-R was good and Alex had a really good test and proved the bike is competitive.

"I just need to relax and see how I feel on the bike on Friday, but I'm confident, I think every day it gets better and even if I can't do the race weekend quite how I wanted, I think I can still be strong. The most important thing for me is to finish both the races on Sunday."