Milwaukee Aprilia had a mixed start to Round 2 on Friday in Thailand, rider Eugene Laverty progressing straight to the pole shootout as his teammate Lorenzo Savadori returned from injury.
Laverty had a strong morning session, ending Free Practice 1 in P2 with a 1’34.249 lap, +0.289 from the top. He was able to find even more pace for FP2, and beat his own time by over 0.3 seconds with a 1’33.851 that put him P1 at the end of the session. FP3 ran in cooler conditions that slowed the track down.
Laverty was hit by Fores early in the session at Turn 9, resulting in a crash that caused him to box for repairs. He was back on track quickly, eventually finishing the session P12 with a 1’34.186. His morning efforts were enough to secure a place in the pole shootout for the second consecutive round, as the team continue their rapid development and improvement.
The team can take positives from both riders finishing the day within 0.6s of the front. Their encouraging form at Phillip Island and testing laid a strong foundation for the Aprilia to develop further, and they are targeting the big points this weekend.
Free Practice 4 begins on Saturday 24th at 10:45 local time (GMT +7), ahead of Superpole 1 at 13:30, Superpole 2 at 13:55, and Race 1 at 16:00.
Eugene Laverty #50
“We finished today really strong. In the morning session we were fast and the bike was working well, and then the second practice was fantastic and we managed to finish P1. I struggled in the last session honestly. The temperature dropped and the grip of the track increased, which seemed to help others but not us so much. That’s good information for us to work with tonight, and I know the guys will have some changes to make ahead of the race. It was good to make Superpole 2 again, and top ten after practice was a decent result considering the tough afternoon. I think we can have a good session and the podium has to be our goal in the race.”