EUGENE LAVERTY led from the second lap to the chequered flag in a controlled display of domination at the sixth round of the World Supersport Championship at Kyalami in South Africa, taking his and Parkalgar Honda’s tally of wins to three – half of the races started.
Eugene closed five points back on Championship leader Cal Crutchlow and remains in a clear second place in the title race. Parkalgar Honda racer Miguel Praia improved on his qualifying position of 17th finishing 16th and just outside the points. The next round of the Championship takes place on Sunday, May 31st at Salt Lake City in the USA.
Eugene: “Thank you to my Parkalgar Honda team for giving me a bike that was simply perfect. After warm-up this morning I knew we had the capability to win and that’s down to the team effort. During the race I was aware of the gap between myself and Cal and it wasn’t as easy to maintain as it may have looked. With someone like Cal behind pushing as hard as he does, on the limit to win, you can never relax. The gap went back and forward and it was a hard race – it was difficult to control because Cal had the same pace as me, if he hadn’t been held up at the start then it would have been a fight. It’s nice to keep the 50 per cent win record.”
Miguel: “We tried many things in warm-up this morning to find an extra half-second pace to get into the top 10 but nothing worked. We went back to yesterday’s settings and we should have been able to compete for 12th or so but mid-race when normally we get stronger, this time we lost pace for some reason - my Parkalgar Honda was harder to ride and I couldn’t do anymore. It has been a tough weekend and now I want to forget it and move on.”
Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “What a mega day for Eugene and Parkalgar Honda, congratulations to everyone involved with the team. I think Eugene benefitted a little from Cal being held up in the pack early on. Cal came back at him but Eugene could run the same lap times and that was it – those two were clearly quicker than everyone else here. It simply didn’t click for Miguel here in South Africa and he needs to move on; it is a real shame for him to finish just outside of the points. He will still be pushing 100 per cent for the top 10 at the next round and it will come this season I am sure.”
Race Result
1 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 39′06.061 (149,855 kph)
2 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 2.546
3 Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 17.358
4 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 17.454
5 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 18.221
6 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 20.561
7 McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 33.141
8 West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 37.326
9 Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 37.728
10 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 37.939
16 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 53.911
Championship Positions (after six of 14 rounds)
1: Crutchlow 119
2: LAVERTY (PARKALGAR HONDA) 106
3: Sofuoglu 83
4: Pitt 64
5: Lascorz 60
6: West 60
18: PRAIA (PARKALGAR HONDA) 8.
