Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty had one aim during the MCE British Superbike round at Oulton Park and that was to come away with some solid points, and he certainly did just that with an eighth and fourth place finishes yesterday.

It has been a tough two rounds for the Northern Irishman but his team have been working hard to erase the issues he had with the S1000RR , and it appeared that the crew had found a solution. They changed the electronic throttle and now everything has clicked in place for Laverty.

The Wales-based rider is confident that he has a package which can be competitive enough to challenge for podiums and race wins and he can’t wait to put his theory into practice at the next BSB round at Snetterton. The Tyco man’s ultimate goal is to make the Showdown and now he’s seventh in the standings, only two points off a provisional top six spot.

“It is a much better weekend for us. In race two we found some answers to our problems and I know I can turn up to Snetterton and I have a bike I can race at the front with,” said Laverty, speaking to bikesportnews.com from the track.

“We found some solutions on Sunday with the electronic throttle and before that we have been going around in circles. It was a small fundamental problem that was a nightmare and now we can challenge up the sharp end for the next round.

“I am happy - it’s a load off my shoulders. For the first two rounds we couldn’t find a solution now we have. Fourth was lucky in race two but my pace was 0.7 per lap quicker than race one, and that was just a small fundamental change and we will be much stronger now.

“In race two I had to get past a few riders like Jason, Chris, Howie and Richard but I had a messy start and it took me halfway through the race to understand the bike. I could be more aggressive on the throttle and ride in a different fashion. It bodes well and it’s my toughest circuit – so I am quite satisfied, and at Snetterton we should be fighting for race wins.”