Milwaukee Aprilia scored more points in Race 2 at Donington Park on Sunday, although sadly Eugene Laverty was forced to retire on Lap 16 with electronics issues.
Eugene had a difficult start, initially making a fast getaway but had a big moment on his bike exiting Turn 7 on the first lap and dropped to P14. From there he hung on to the pack and chased Torres, but a sticking throttle error on Lap 13 caused him to lose places and drop to P17. Concerned that the issue would risk danger to himself and to other riders, he pitted on Lap 15 and retired from the race.
Though not the result the team hoped for in Race 2 they still have positives to take away from Race 1, and have shown a strong step forward in performance that bodes well for the fast and flowing Brno circuit next month
Round 7 of the WorldSBK championship takes place at the Brno circuit in Czech Republic, 8-10 June.
Eugene Laverty #50 – Aprilia RSV4-RF “I had a problem on Lap 1 where the rear wheel locked after Turn 7. I thought I had oil in the tyre but there was some bug issue with the bike. I tried to stay in the race and at least salvage some points, but the throttle stuck open about halfway which scared me. I lost a few more places trying to make sure I didn’t collide with another rider, and then it happened again and nearly put me in the wall. After that it wasn’t worth the risk so I boxed. I’m not happy with how the weekend went overall, we were quick in the warm up today but then had an electronics issue at the end, and then again in the race we had a problem which was a disaster.
The bike should work well in Brno, anywhere with long corners suits us. The other guys have tested there this year so they have a slight head start, but I’m confident we can put on a good performance there.”