Qualifying didn’t quite work out for Eugene Laverty who started the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM down in 18th. As the race went on he slowly gained confidence and upped his pace, moving into the points on lap nine as he set his sights on Stefan Bradl (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini). Laverty was able to muscle past Bradl on the final lap and was pleased to see his pace improve as the race went on. Having struggled with injury throughout testing, Laverty and the Aspar Team MotoGP squad are finally starting to fully understand the GP14.2 and are coming stronger with each race.
Laverty remains in the top ten of the MotoGP™ World Championship with 36 points, ahead of notable names such as Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda). It’s been a strong start to the year and the Irish rider is looking to carry the momentum ahead to achieve his goal of finishing in the top ten.
Eugene Laverty: “After such a difficult weekend we salvaged three important points, and that's the important thing because we struggled to find the correct direction after the crash on Friday. I was getting faster and faster in the race; on the final laps I overtook Bradl and the bike started to feel really good. That's good information ahead of the next race. Now we really understand this bike better and better. The fact that it was easier for us at the end gives us a good direction to take things. I'm happy to have salvaged points here, but I expect to be stronger in Barcelona”