Parkalgar Honda's Eugene Laverty reckons he should have pushed harder in the slippery conditions during the opening laps of today's World Supersport race at Valencia.

Rain fell in between the end of World Superbike race one and the start of the 600cc clash and Laverty rode round with his foot on the tarmac during the warm-up lap to see where the grip was.

“I was worried about spinning up at the start with the damp track and didn’t get away well while everyone else got normal starts. I got behind Andrew Pitt and normally he is a demon at the start of a race and I thought I would follow him through," said the young Irishman.

"Instead, people came past me. I sat behind Andrew for too long and was too cautious. On the warm up lap I had ridden with my foot on the floor and knew the slippery corners and should have pushed by Andrew earlier. The Parkalgar Honda is working well and at the end in the dry my lap times were good.

"I am only 11-points behind the Championship lead after being 14-points behind after the opening round. We are still in good shape for the Championship – scoring points on days like today that can make the difference between winning and losing title races.”