Eugene Laverty was upbeat on Saturday afternoon after showing great speed in the wet conditions in qualifying at Silverstone to take sixth place on the grid for his home race.
Indeed it might have been even better for him as he lapped at provisional pole pace, inside the benchmark set by Cal Crutchlow through the first two splits on his last lap, only to lose rear grip and crash.
Laverty had made it through to Q2 by dominating Q1 but a small bike issue at the start of the decisive second session cost him crucial tyre temperature and, ultimately, the opportunity to dislodge his old rival Crutchlow.
Eugene Laverty: “The second row is our best ever qualifying so I have to be happy in some ways but our potential was so high there. At the start of Q2 I had some problems with the bike and I had to pit in, then the tyres got cold and I just couldn't get the temperature back in, it was like I was riding around on ice. On the last lap I could see on the big screen that Cal had a big gap so I knew I had a good chance to be second but I thought, ‘why not go for pole?’ I had a shot at it but unfortunately the tyre was too cold and I crashed.
“It wasn't for not trying, that's for sure. Still, it's always nice to shine when you have so many people supporting you; a second row start is good for us and now I will hope for this rain to keep up! If it is dry I will just try and hang on near the front and a top ten result, as always, will be our goal.”