Having ridden in the 125cc, 250cc and WorldSBK championships before joining the MotoGP™ World Championship in 2015, Eugene Laverty (Aspar Team MotoGP) is no stranger to the TT Circuit Assen. In the WorldSBK championship he took two wins from two visits in the Supersport class and won aboard an Aprilia in the Superbike class in 2013. He failed to finish his first MotoGP™ race at Assen in 2015, but the Irish rider is showing much better in 2016. As such his goal centres around the top ten, aiming to finish inside the top ten in the race and hopefully move himself back into the top ten of the championship.
Laverty’s 39 points put him just two points shy of Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) in tenth place. With Iannone starting from the back of the grid due to a penalty from the Catalan GP, Laverty's goals are certainly realistic. The Aspar Team rider had been inside the top ten of the standings from Argentina and is one of just four riders to have scored at every round in 2016.
Eugene Laverty: “My objective this weekend is another top ten finish. After the result in Barcelona I have dropped out of the top ten in the championship so we have to keep pushing to get back amongst the best. I like the Assen circuit but it will be important to control the power of the Ducati to make it manageable. I am very focused on this next race and on getting my place back in the top ten.”