Voltcom Suzuki’s Eugene Laverty did not end his season in the World Superbike paddock on a high like he hoped, as he finished race one in Qatar in ninth and ended up crashing in the final outing under the floodlights, calling time early on his final ride with his team.

But Laverty is off to the MotoGP paddock in 2015, but wanted to end his season in World Superbikes with at least a podium finish, but things did not work out that way, and the Irishman left the desert feeling disappointed. He was desperate to get on to the rostrum, and he was pushing hard, as he wanted to reward his team for their efforts in 2014.

“Race one was poor, I really struggled with the front tyre and ninth was all I could manage - we came strong in the second half of the race but it was too little too late. We changed to a different front tyre for the second race and the feeling was much better," said Laverty.

“I was going to be in that fight for fourth and I was desperate to cling on but I had issues with the rear entry grip and it suddenly came around on me. It was a strange crash as I’ve never crashed like that before and it was a disappointing way to end the season.

“I was desperate to get on the podium this weekend, and I was pushing for that, to try and reward the team with another podium. It hasn’t been the best of years, with just a win at Phillip Island and then a podium at Sepang, the boys deserved much more as they have been working hard.

“I never really like to say that our luck was out, but sometimes this year it did seem that way. Thanks to the whole team and all the sponsors for never giving up and I’m just disappointed we couldn’t finish on a high”