Parkalgar Honda’s new signing Eugene Laverty has completed his first day’s testing for the team at their home track of Portimao in Portugal.

Laverty spent the day getting to know his Parkalgar Honda team and the CBR600RR race bike. As well as having the bike fitted for him personally, he asked for adjustments to the balance to suit his riding style.

By the end of the day he was lapping fast enough to have been competitive in the race despite having limited track time and experience.

“I am so happy to be out on a track again. The Parkalgar Algarve Motor Park is a wonderful track, one of the best in the world, if not the best in my opinion, and I’ve been everywhere with MotoGP recently," said Laverty.

“The 2008 Parkalgar Honda is quick and once we dialled my set-up into it, now feels really fast on the turns and confident through the corners. It’s not quite there yet but it is only our first day…there’s a lot more to come but one thing is for sure, we have a great package and these Irish eyes are smiling.”