Voltcom Suzuki’s Eugene Laverty made it back on to the World Superbike podium today at Sepang, for the first time since the opening round at Phillip Island. The Monaco based resident finished race one in third and is hailing the weekend as ‘positive’ and 'fantastic'.
Starting from seventh on the grid Laverty avoided the second corner collision in race one, which brought down three riders including his teammate Alex Lowes, and got up to speed quickly to pursue the front running pack of four riders.
Challenging their pace, the Irishman held fifth place for the initial eight laps before advancing on Red Devils Roma’s Toni Elias and then Ducati’s Chaz Davies three laps later. Maintaining consistent speed on his GSX-R, Laverty held third to the finishing line and took home 16 championship points for his team.
In race two Laverty caught up with Pata Honda’s Leon Haslam and the Ducati pairing of Davide Giugliano and Davies before running out of laps to catch the next group - and finished the afternoon in seventh.
“It was fantastic to get back on the podium in race one - a nice reward for all the guys because they deserved it in Donington but I threw it away in race one, so we are back where we belong I think,” said Laverty.
“Race two, with the shorter distance, didn’t suit my Suzuki because we were better on old tyres but it’s been a positive weekend in all and it’s nice to finally be back in the top three for the first time since Phillip Island.”
