It really was a day of mixed fortunes for Voltcom Suzuki’s Eugene Laverty for the opening World Superbike round of 2014. The Irish lad stormed to victory on his debut in race one at Phillip Island with his new team, securing the first World Championship win for the Japanese manufacturer since 2010.
But it was a different story for the final track outing. In race two Laverty was again challenging for the lead, a brief battle in the opening laps resulted in the Suzuki GSX-R again dominating the mid-race before a mechanical issue, causing a visible engine failure, bought about an early end to the weekend’s activities.
The Monaco based rider subsequently came away from the final race with no points, but his earlier victory means he lies fifth overall in the rider’s championship. The Voltcom Suzuki will now use the month-long break to re-evaluate the data from this weekend’s racing before preparing for the first European leg of the World Championship with a private test at Jerez in March ahead of the second round of competition at Aragon.
“A day of highs and lows. The first race was incredible. To be so far back on the first lap and come through to win, it was the perfect race for us and a nice way to pay back the whole team for the belief they’ve shown in me. Paul Denning worked hard to get me on board and he delivered everything I needed,” said Laverty.
“He brought in my Crew Chief Phil Marron, Davide Gentile to work on the electronics, and Stan, who I’ve worked with before. All the rest of the boys have welcomed me, so it was nice to be able to reward them with the win right away, and it’s a win that means more to me than any so far in my WSBK career.
"The second race was a disappointment for everyone. We didn’t deserve that, that’s for sure, but that’s racing and unfortunately that’s how it goes sometimes.”
