Michael Laverty succède à Melandri chez Aprilia / Michael Laverty replaces Melandri for German GP

Michael Laverty prendra la place laissée par Marco Melandri dans l’Aprilia Racing Team Gresini dès ce week-end au Sachsenring.

Michael Laverty sera de retour sur la grille MotoGP™ à partir du Grand Prix GoPro d’Allemagne et prendra la place laissée par Marco Melandri chez l’Aprilia Racing Team Gresini suite à ce que l’Italien et le constructeur de Noale aient décidé de mettre fin à leur partenariat. 

Frère aîné de John et de Eugene, qui dispute sa première saison en MotoGP™ cette année avec l’Aspar MotoGP Team, Michael a déjà couru deux saisons en catégorie reine, avec Paul Bird Motorsport, et pilotait un prototype équipé d’un moteur Aprilia avant de prendre un rôle de pilote d’essais pour la RS-GP.

Le Nord-Irlandais courait cette année dans le British Superbike Championship, sur la S1000RR de Tyco BMW.

Michael Laverty :

« Je suis heureux d’être de retour sur la grille pour le GP d’Allemagne. Courir contre des pilotes qui ont déjà couru la moitié de la saison en MotoGP va être difficile mais je veux profiter à fond de cette opportunité. J’ai travaillé en piste assez régulièrement avec l’Aprilia test team cette année et je suis donc déjà à l’aise sur la moto comme avec les pneus Bridgestone. Je vais tout d’abord devoir m’habituer à la moto en conditions de course et puis essayer de progresser au long du week-end. Álvaro (Bautista) a très bien piloté sur la première partie de la saison et j’ai pu constater le travail réalisé avec le test team. Maintenant je suis impatient de rejoindre l’équipe des week-ends de course. »

Laverty will be a permanent replacement for Marco Melandri with effect from this Grand Prix.

Michael Laverty will rejoin the MotoGP™ class for the GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland this weekend and continue to be a permanent fixture in the Aprilia Racing Team for the rest of the season. So far this year, the Northern Irishman has been racing in the British Superbike Championship for Tyco BMW onboard an S1000RR.

With Aprilia & Marco Melandri having decided through mutual consent to part ways, Laverty was a logical choice as a replacement having served as a test rider for the RS-GP.

Michael Laverty: “I'm excited to be back on the MotoGP grid this weekend for the German GP. Competing against the regular guys racing MotoGP is a tough task, but I am relishing the opportunity. I have been riding with the Aprilia test team so I am comfortable with the Aprilia RS-GP machine and the Bridgestone tyres. Firstly I must adapt the race bikes to suit me and then look to keep progressing throughout the weekend. Álvaro has been riding strongly in this first half of the season and I have witnessed some great development work through the test team. I now look forward to being a part of the racing team."

Michael is one of three Laverty brothers who race professionally: he is the oldest, followed by John and Eugene Laverty. Eugene already races in MotoGP™ for the Aspar MotoGP team, making the lavertys the second pair of brothers in this year's championship, alongside Aleix and Pol Espargaró.

Guintoli and Laverty get off blistering start after round 1 at Phillip Island

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After months of waiting for the new Superbike season to start, today’s first round at the iconicPhillip Island circuit, didn’t disappoint and Aprilia inaugurated the opening round with both factory riders sharing the top spots on the podium and both looking like they can be worthy replacements for former two-time World Superbike champion Max Biaggi who won both his championships with the Noale manufacturer.

Sylvain Guintoli won race 1 with Eugene Laverty coming second, and in race 2 the two riders reversed their positions in what turned out to be Aprilia’s pièce de résistance, as not only did Guintoli and Laverty each dominate their respective races, but Michele Fabrizio on the Red Devils Roma Aprilia gave the Italian manufacturer a third place podium in race 1, and in race 2 there were a total of four Aprilia’s in the top six.

Guintoli and Laverty are tied not only in the standings with 45 points each as Aprilia leads Manufacturer championship with 50 points, but they are also tied for the number of career victories in WSBK’s with four each.

We got off on the right foot all the work from the past few days has paid off,” said Laverty. My Aprilia was fast and it performed as I wanted it to from the first to the last lap. In Race 1 I may have been a bit too conservative with the tyres, still taking a nice second place, but in Race 2 I pushed a bit more decisively. At the end, when it was Sylvain, Melandri and me, I tried and was able to get away, shaving a few more tenths off my pace. The track record two laps from the finish was nice confirmation that we turned up to the races in the best possible conditions. 45 points after the first race are some nice spoils. I’ve never started a season this well and now we’ll be thinking about Aragon and how to stay on this path”.

“It’s great to start off with a win! Quite honestly, after the tests I know I could do well and from the start my intention was to give it my all. My goal has always been to win, but sometimes you have to adapt to conditions. However, today the setting was good, I didn’t have any serious concerns about tyre duration and everything went according to plan. In the first race I didn’t get off to a good start and I lost a few positions, but lap by lap I found the right pace to move forward. Eugene had gotten away well and when I overtook him I managed to keep the distance and take this important win. In Race 2 Eugene had a bit more than me in the last laps. He employed a strategy similar to the one I used in the first race, but this is a fantastic result for the team even if we are just at the beginning of the championship”, said Guintoli.

The next round will be held in Aragon, Spain from April 12-14.

WSBK : Eugene Laverty takes victory in race 2 at P.I.

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Phillip Island has officially become an Aprilia stronghold. After a 1-2-3 podium in race 1 with a victory by Sylvain Guintoli, race 2 saw team mate Eugene Laverty take the win - his second with the Italian manufacturer. Completing the podium was a beat up and bruised Marco Melandri, who gritted his teeth to take third after being taken out by Carlos Checa.

With Checa is the hospital, Laverty moved into the pole position and when the lights turned green, it was Tom Sykes that got the holeshot, but he would soon lose it on the fifth lap to a hard charging Guintoli who would lead almost the entire race, but during the 20th lap and posting the fastest lap in the race, Eugene Laverty would pass first Melandri and then at the end of the straight outbrake his team mate and race to the victory.

Melandri would never lead the race, but he did get to second and then manage to hold off Michele Fabrizio who was ready to attack in the final corners, but the Red Devils Aprilia rider would then make a small mistake and lose touch with BMW rider. Fabrizio finished fourth and ahead of Tom Sykes who would take another fifth place, with tire issues.

Davide Giugliano was sixth and this time was at least be able to finish the race after he DNF’d in race 1 and he was ahead of Jules Cluzel. After all his pre-season crashes and technical difficulties during the weekend, the French rider was no doubt relieved about the position as he finished ahead of his team mate Leon Camier who was only 9th, lamenting tire problems.

Jonathan Rea couldn’t celebrate his 100th Superbike race as he was only 8th. Leon Haslam finished 10th and his race was ruined by Chaz Davies who tangles with Loris Baz. The Kawasaki rider was stretchered off with a foot injury, while Davies was able to rejoin, but he suffered a flat and had to return to his garage to change his tire, and then was given a ride through, as more than three mechanics worked on his BMW and the new pitting rules now forbid it.

WSBK Phillip Island Race 2 results:

01- Eugene Laverty – Aprilia Racing Team – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – 22 lap in 33’45.938
02- Sylvain Guintoli – Aprilia Racing Team – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 0.418
03- Marco Melandri – BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team – BMW S1000RR HP4 – + 1.382
04- Michel Fabrizio – Red Devils Roma – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 2.282
05- Tom Sykes – Kawasaki Racing Team – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 11.545
06- Davide Giugliano – Althea Racing – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 12.508
07- Jules Cluzel – FIXI Crescent Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 17.330
08- Jonathan Rea – Pata Honda World Superbike Team – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 17.339
09- Leon Camier – FIXI Crescent Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 19.886
10- Leon Haslam – Pata Honda World Superbike Team – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 19.996

Michel Fabrizio leads field in QP1 at Phillip Island

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 Michel Fabrizio was once again the fastest rider in the first qualifying practice at Phillip Island after dominating FP1, and topping the timesheets in the last eight minutes of the session with a best lap of 1’31″317 (slightly slower than in FP1) but is was enough to keep the resurgent Eugene Laverty at bay by a mere 0.075s and making it two Aprilia’s on the top.
BMW’s Marco Melandri ended his day in third place, a little more two tenths from the top, and he worked on his race pace for most the session, while Leon Camier was fourth holding off a trio of his fellow countryman, Chaz Davies, Leon Haslam and Kawasaki’s injured Tom Sykes all covered in less than half of a second.
Althea’s Davide Giugliano was seventh, followed by Sylvain Guintoli and Jonathan Rea who closed out the top ten. While an impressive Jamie Stauffer was 11th a little less than seven tenths from the top after just three days of testing with Pirelli tires.

Also getting into the provisional Superpole shootout (only 15 riders this year) was other wildcard rider Glenn Allerton in 14th.
Carlos Checa, who was able to complete only a handful of laps following his crash earlier in the day that left him with a badly bruised foot after his Panigale fell on him was just 12th, but still well within a second from the top.
Max Neukirchner was 13th and Loris Baz, 15th who seems to be suffering from confidence issues after his pre-season test crash.
WSBK Phillip Island QP1 results:
01- Michel Fabrizio – Red Devils Roma – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – 1’31.317
02- Eugene Laverty – Aprilia Racing Team – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 0.075
03- Marco Melandri – BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team – BMW S1000RR HP4 – + 0.222
04- Leon Camier – FIXI Crescent Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 0.291
05- Chaz Davies – BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team – BMW S1000RR HP4 – + 0.321
06- Leon Haslam – Pata Honda World Superbike Team – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 0.370
07- Tom Sykes – Kawasaki Racing Team – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 0.437
08- Davide Giugliano – Althea Racing – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 0.476
09- Sylvain Guintoli – Aprilia Racing Team – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 0.546
10- Jonathan Rea – Pata Honda World Superbike Team – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 0.567