On Saturday morning at the WorldSBK Thai round weekend, during the Free Practice 3, Eugene Laverty focused on his race pace. He went to the track with used tyres and made several laps on the 34.0.
In Superpole, Eugene pushed from the beginning, and improved his best time in the second lap by seven tenths. After bringing his Panigale V4-R to the top positions, he returned to the pits to put on the qualifying tyre for the second and definitive time to start his attack.
Eugene exploited the great work done by the team, maked good times in the first two sectors and qualified in P 8.
Race 1 turned out badly with a scary crash at turn 12 for Eugene. After losing a few positions at the start, the Go Eleven rider was climbing back up, pressing the Welsh rider Chaz Davies …. then on the third lap he found himself without the front brake, and thankfully he was able to get off in time before the bike hits against the barriers. The team’s technicians are trying to understand the causes that led to the accident.
Eugene Laverty:
“It’s very disappointing to end race one in this way after such a promising weekend. In Superpole we made a good lap time to qualify in 8th position and I was feeling optimistic of a great result in race one. However, on lap 3 I arrived at the final corner with no front brake. I tried to pump the lever three times but no brake pressure arrived and so I had to jump off the side of the bike. It was a scary accident and I’m very fortunate to be able to walk away uninjured. We need to find what exactly went wrong before I return to the track again tomorrow.”
The crew will work all night to reassemble the bike. Tomorrow the Team expects a great revenge, there will be two races available!
Don’t miss a race of this fascinating Round 2!