Voltcom Suzuki’s Eugene Laverty was able to hold on to fourth position overall during the World Superbike free practice sessions at Portimao, but he was plagued by his right-foot injury, which he re-injured during the first race at Misano, and it means he will have to use a thumb brake for the rest of the weekend.
Laverty is irritated by the foot injury because he can’t use the rear brake so his team are working on the thumb-operated system. But it is not all bad for the Irish lad as he was at the sharp end for both sessions and was even third quickest in the first free practice session this morning.
“To be right at the sharp end on day one is very promising. The Suzuki works really well here, it’s a track that has a lot of secrets and I’ve worked hard over the years to learn them,” said Laverty.
“I’m confident that we will be there challenging for the win on Sunday and it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to say that. I was quite annoyed with my right foot this morning because it’s worse than the original injury.
“It means that I can’t use the rear brake now so we are working on a thumb brake system. We will try to use that because the rear brake is a fundamental part of my riding style.”
