British 250GP star Eugene Laverty spent most of today’s World Supersport practice and qualifing sessions getting used to the Pirelli tyres on his Yamaha World Supersport bike after riding on Dunlops for the past two years.
Laverty, who is standing in for the injured Fabien Foret, managed to grab a provisional eighth place on the grid this afternoon after only spending this morning and an hour on the Yamaha R6 at Croft on Wednesday.
"As well as having to unlearn everything about riding the Aprilia this weekend," said the 22-year-old, "I have to get used to the different carcass construction of the tyres too. The Pirellis move around so much more than the tyres I use in GPs. We had to add some pressure to the front this morning, which cured some of the difficulties, and then did the same to the rear this afternoon.
"I was pretty happy with the times today. I was about quickest in the first split and only about four-tenths off in the second, but I am losing all the time in the last sector. I know what I am doing wrong and I have looked at my team’s datalogging to see what Broc is doing.
"It’s just a question of riding the thing differently and getting used to the engine braking of a four-stroke. I haven’t had that for a couple of years."