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Laverty's MotoGP future hanging on Bird Aprilia deal

Michael Laverty's future in MotoGP looks likely to be decided by the deal Aprilia put together with his team boss Paul Bird over the coming days.

The Irishman tested the 2014 ART package yesterday at Valencia alongside Randy De Puniet believes that if Aprilia can come up with the right package, he could well be running it all of next season but can do nothing now but wait.

"It's a case of biding my time at the minute. I am waiting for Aprilia to give Paul a decision and Paul making a decision based on their offer, whether he accepts that or turns it down and carries on with the PBM project and lease engines. It all depends on what Romano (Albesiano, Aprilia race boss) puts on the table," said Laverty, speaking to bikesportnews.com

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"Aprilia were quite keen to bring De Puniet in but he has decided to go with the Suzuki test programme and have a sabbatical for a year so he is out of the picture and Aprilia are keen to have a top ten runner. What Aprilia bring to the table will decide my fate.

"It's open at the moment. Paul told me that he would not leave me in the lurch if things to fall apart at the 11th hour, he will put me on a third BSB bike as most other things will have gone by then."

Laverty also spent a lot of time riding the upgraded PBM bike, which has benbefitted from a new electronics package, as well as the new-spec ART which came straight from the Aspar garage in Espargaro trim.

"We started with some laps on the PBM bike and then got an hour on the 2014 ART. It was good and showed how much stronger the new spec engine is - it has a load more acceleration and really jumps off the turns and it has more top speed.

"The chassis was set for Espargaro and it chatters too much. I would have needed a bit more weight on the front to get rid of it but we left it as we were just getting a feel for how the bike was. I only got three exits in that hour but it was good to understand where it is. The main benefit for me was the engine.

"In the afternoon, I jumped back on the PBM for some exits on well-used tyres and did a load of 1'33 laps and one 1'33 flat at the end so we were only 0.2 off Espargaro's best Aprilia lap, which was pleasing.

"It was a positive test overall on the GPMS bike. Since I last rode it, they have upgraded the electronics a lot and in particular the corner-entry strategy which solves the biggest problem I had before which was stopping it.

"They have fixed that and yesterday put some anti-wheelie on it too which makes it a lot easier to ride. It now steers and works really well. It's a bit frustrating we got the upgrades at the end of the season!

"I've always thought the GPMS chassis had a lot of potential, it doesn't chatter and it finds more grip than the older ART. Should the Aprilia deal not come off, I would be quite happy to progress with the GPMS chassis if we got some of the new-spec Aprilia engines. If we got a some more horsepower and continue to develop the chassis, we would have a great motorbike."

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