Laverty the quick learner moves on again
Two wins at Monza have been the obvious highlights, but his movement at Miller Motorsports Park, into fourth place in the overall championship fight, is even more impressive from the rider from Toomebridge.
He was looking good for at least a podium in race one at Miller until he started to lose traction but ending the day with a fifth and a fourth was still a boost to his season, especially when his team-mate Marco Melandri could finish only tenth and sixth in comparison. Laverty was once more a front row starter at the last round, his third such grid placement in a row.
Melandri is still second in the championship fight, but Laverty is the coming man as we approach two intense weekends of racing in succession, at Misano and Aragon.
Said Laverty of his latest efforts in the USA, "I managed to get a great start off the line in both races and maintain my starting position into the first curve. In race one I made a mistake changing the gears, which caused me to drop back to 15th. I climbed up to second by mid race but then I began to suffer from extreme tyre wear. We improved the chassis setting before race two and I was a lot more cautious with the tyre. I was sitting in third place from early on but I didn't want to push too hard in on Max to ensure the tyres would last to the end. I'm quite happy having finished fifth and fourth in the two races and I'm now fourth in the standings, which I'm pleased with."
