Race of two halves for Laverty

The flag to flag San Marino Grand Prix left Eugene Laverty once again seeing positives from the weekend but no points on the table. The Irishman was strong in the dry on Friday and at the end of the race he once again found that feeling on the bike but in the wet he struggled for a good feeling on the bike and the time lost left him 19th at the flag.

“To make two pit stops is strange,” said Laverty after the race. “Some of the guys there were opportunists, I had nothing to lose early on so in hindsight I should have gambled but that’s the way it goes. The biggest surprise was when I went back out on my dry bike the grip was incredible. I had so much grip it was like our bike on Friday.

“Since I woke up on Saturday morning we had lost grip with the rear. It was suddenly there and I had no idea why. We have to look into that. For me the difference was the surface, maybe the rain washed all the rubber and dirt off the track. That’s the confusing bit right now. You can either be a hero and I regret not pitting a lap earlier. I didn’t have a good feeling and went on instinct to decide when to pit.” 

In the closing stages, when the bike felt good once again, the Aspar rider was feeling hugely confident but lost almost ten seconds after running off track when he clashed with Pol Espargaro.

Laverty’s future was also once again speculated at the weekend with Yonny Hernandez linked to his seat. The 29 year old commented that “I’m not really sure where these rumours keep coming from but I have a two year contract with the team and it’s clear that if they field a bike then I’ll be on it.”

Aspar are still searching for a sponsor for next year and until they do uncertainty will continue to surround the Spanish squad.