Britain's Eugene Laverty has taken his first World Supersport podium at Vallelunga this afternoon in only his second outing on the works Yamaha. Countryman Jonathan Rea took the win and added to his tally of victories.
Laverty, who is riding with broken bones in his feet, almost didnt finish the race after Rea's team-mate and world championship leader Andrew Pitt tried a deperate move on the Irishman with a handful of laps to go and nearly took them both out.
Pitt ended up in the gravel while Laverty continued but the gap to his team-mate Broc Parkes was too big and the 22-year-old settled for third.
Rea and Pitt made the initial running and pulled a gap on Barry Venemen and Stiggy Motorsport's Robbin Harms. Laverty went back to ninth from his seventh-placed qualifying. It didn't take him long to move through the field, putting big passes on riders in one area of the track where he was noticably faster.
Laverty rode round the outside of Brookes at Campagnola corner to take fourth but a couple of laps later, at the same turn, he went past Brookes again and Pitt at the same turn. Pitt got back past again but it didn't take Laverty long to retake third.
Rea, meanwhile, had pulled a four-second gap on the trio battling for second and looked totally in control. Brookes managed to get past Laverty and pull a small gap. Pitt made a last-ditch and dangerous move up the inside of Laverty, the pair collided and the Australian came of worse, ending up in the gravel trap.
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