Sylvain Guintoli is hoping to rediscover his pace and rhythm on the Pata Yamaha upon his return action in World Superbikes for the first time since his Imola crash in May.

The French rider has been out of competitive action since he broke his ankle in a heavy off during qualifying at Imola in May and despite being fit enough to ride he has had to wait until the end of the World Superbike summer break to return to racing.

Having enjoyed a succession of in-season tests with Pata Yamaha Guintoli is relishing racing again having been away for effectively four months and is aiming for a resurgent climax to the year as he is set to leave the factory Yamaha squad at the end of 2016.

"Obviously I have been out of competition for a few months now so I'm really looking forward to getting back into the mix and getting stuck in," Guintoli said. "You can't replace racing - there is nothing that gets anywhere near the feeling it gives you to compete and to race so I am very much looking forward to this weekend.

"Hopefully I can rebuild my speed quickly, find the feeling with the YZF-R1 and enjoy the end of the season. I think everyone agrees that Lausitz is not the most exciting track and is very bumpy but we have to do the best we can there to get a strong result."

Guintoli and Pata Yamaha will be targeting to crack the top five as it uses the final four rounds of the year as the team prepares for a title challenge in 2017.

So far, Guintoli's fifth place finish in the race two at season opener Phillip Island stands as the team's joint-best result of the year with Alex Lowes matching the feat in Sepang and Laguna Seca.