Returning to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) had a tough opening day in Australia, as he ended the day down in 14^th position overall.

Weather conditions weren’t kind to WorldSBK riders at Phillip Island today, however it wasn’t weather that hindered the Irishman as he struggles to find any front end feeling aboard his RSV4 RF. Off the back of two positive tests in 2017, Laverty found today a challenge however he is confident his squad will be able to have a look at the bike and fix the issues he has encountered.

“There wasn’t much track time, but it was the same for everybody.” Laverty explains, “We didn’t get a natural feeling with the bike at all today. It feels as if something’s not correct with it, but we’ll have a look tonight and see if we can get the bike working correctly. With here being so fluid and high speed, it’s affecting me a lot more. I’m confident the guys can sort it tonight, there’s not much point me doing laps and the work needs to be done in here before the bike goes out on track.”

Laverty will be hoping to improve on his time in the second and final day of the Official Test at Phillip Island, before the season gets underway on Friday. Follow the live timing on WorldSBK.com from 11.20AM (GMT +11)