EUGENE LAVERTY led from start to finish to convincingly win a re-started opening round of the World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island in Australia with team-mate Miguel Praia taking an excellent career-best equalling ninth for the Parkalgar Honda team.

Parkalgar Honda goes home for round two of the Championship to the Parkalgar circuit in Portugal in one month’s time on March 28th.

Eugene: “It was a pretty easy race after a tough weekend trying to match the pace of Lascorz and Sofuoglu. Those guys can put in a quick lap but we knew we had the consistency and this morning we managed to improve the race set-up of my CBR600RR a bit more. Thank you to my Parkalgar Honda team for all its hard work, it has paid off - thank you also to Pirelli for an excellent tyre that worked well for me all weekend and never missed a beat. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season and am looking forward to going to our home circuit in Portugal as the leader of the World Championship - a first in my career.”

Miguel: “My position was not so bad but I definitely thought I could have competed for a higher finish. The re-start didn’t help because it was difficult to see going through the concrete dust that was laid on the oil. I pushed as hard as I could but the lap times were slower than expected and I ended up in a fight with DiSalvo for the whole race. I ran wide at the Hairpin and then couldn’t get him back. This is my best equal result and now I go to Portimao and my home race with strong points and with a lot of data to improve our performance. The Pirelli tyre is good but I also need to work more on getting the best from it. I am calling all the Portuguese fans to join me and Eugene at Parkalgar to support us, I want Eugene to win and to get in the top five myself.”

Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “That was a brilliant race win by Eugene and a well-deserved top 10 for Miguel. Well done to the Parkalgar Honda team for working so hard, they did a great job. While others went for fast single lap times we concentrated on our own strategy and it paid off. I do not expect the next races to be so easy and we will go back to the PTR workshops and continue to develop our Parkalgar Honda race bikes. Thank you to all our loyal sponsors and none of us can wait to get to our own Parkalgar circuit in Portugal for the second round; we will be doing all we can to deliver the goods there for our main sponsor and circuit owner Parkalgar.”

Race Result

1 50 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 33′37.836 (166,536 kph)
2 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 4.359
3 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 4.500
4 25 Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 11.779
5 99 Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 17.266
6 55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 25.034
7 127 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 27.834
8 40 DiSalvo J. (USA) Triumph Daytona 675 30.102
9 117 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 31.931
10 4 Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 31.991.

Championship Positions

1: Laverty PARKALGAR HONDA 25

2: Lascorz 20

3: Sofuoglu 16

4: Salom 13

5: Foret 11

6: Roccoli 10

7: Harms 9

8: DiSalvo 8

9: Praia PARKALGAR HONDA 7

10: Rea 6.

PARKALGAR HONDA racers Eugene Laverty and Miguel Praia qualified fourth and 11th for the opening round of the World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island in Australia but are confident they can score higher in the race.
Kawasaki’s Joan Lascorz took pole position in good weather conditions. The race is at 1330 local time on Sunday, 28th February.

Eugene: “It was important to get on the front row and if I hadn’t achieved that I wouldn’t have been happy. I didn’t quite have the pace I hoped for but I am feeling real good and my Parkalgar Honda is performing well. I had an electrical problem this morning which lost me time and didn’t help. Lascorz and Sofuoglu are very quick and I’d like to find a bit more time in warm-up before the race. I think our tyre strategy is strong and will perform better over a race and we should be faster in the second half of the race. I will be pushing for the podium.”

Miguel: “I went faster as expected but then I didn’t expect riders like Roccoli and Harms to go as fast as they did. We know qualifying is not my strongest point and that over the race distance we should be quicker than them. My Parkalgar Honda is OK but we are still considering whether to use the new or old Pirelli tyres as it seems dependant on temperature and wind conditions – we will make the decision in warm-up.”

Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “We are race ready and raring to go. Eugene essentially is happy with his bike and on a similar pace to Lascorz and Sofuoglu and I think the winner will come down from one of these three. He might have wanted to be higher up the grid but we are working to win the race, not qualification. Miguel in 11^th has a very good opportunity to fight for the top eight, in a close tight group of riders. Both riders are working on the two Pirelli tyres and can go quickly on either. Congratulations to Lascorz on pole position, it is nothing less than what we expected from him and it will make for a good race.”

Qualifying

1  26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′33.847
2  54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1′34.116
3  51 Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′34.156
4  50 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1′34.300
5  37 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′34.494
6  25 Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 1′34.873
7   7 Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 1′34.939
8 127 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 1′34.999
9  55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′35.051
10  99 Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′35.072
11 117 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1′35.398.

PARKALGAR HONDA’S Eugene Laverty is in provisional second place and Miguel Praia eighth after the first qualifying session for the opening round of the World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island in Australia.
Searing temperatures meant a hot start to the track action although the forecast for Sunday’s race is provisionally for rain. There is another practice and final qualifying session tomorrow followed by the race at 1330 local time on Sunday, 28th February.

Eugene: “It was a really good day and we worked hard on the settings of my Parkalgar Honda from the test earlier in the week. We made a big change to the bike towards the end when we knew we had the right direction – we put more weight on the front – and it worked. I’ve done my fastest lap time since coming here and I think we have a good race pace although it will be close with Sofuoglu and Lascorz. There is a clear indication on who the favourites are and it will be important to look after our tyre. I got with the Kawasaki on track and it has good acceleration but all three of our bikes are similar in performance. Tomorrow I am going for a front row start and also to put in a few long runs to check tyre life and longevity.”

Miguel: “I worked with Eugene on track and followed him out of the final corner to try and improve my drive down the straight and it helped. I am very pleased to get into the 35s as that was our target today and the temperature was very high so we struggled for grip on the smaller tyre. On the bigger tyre we need to work more on bike set-up for consistency. Second row is my aim for the grid; it is very close between sixth and ninth.”

Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “It has been hot here today with a track temperature of 54 degrees at one stage. Eugene towed Miguel several times and it certainly helped. There is nothing wrong with Miguel’s set-up and he is doing very well on the provisional second row in eighth, there is a chance he can improve on that either tomorrow or in the race. Eugene has been working on the balance of his Parkalgar Honda and has excellent race pace. It is a strong opening day for Parkalgar Honda but it will be a tough race.”

First Qualifying

1  26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′34.629
2  50 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1′34.634
3  54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1′34.683
4  37 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′34.783
5  51 Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′34.918
6   7 Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 1′34.939
7  99 Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′35.233
8 117 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1′35.762
9  16 Charpentier S. (FRA) Triumph Daytona 675 1′36.039
10  40 DiSalvo J. (USA) Triumph Daytona 675 1′36.208

Simon Buckmaster says…

IF I was a betting man, then I would be putting my mortgage on Eugene Laverty to win the World Supersport Championship this year. I believe Eugene as an overall with the Parkalgar Honda bike and team is a better package compared to his two main rivals Kenan Sofuoglu and Joan Lascorz.

I am sure I’ll have my critics to publish these thoughts so close to the first round but I believe over a season Eugene is the strongest contender and I don’t mind saying so. Here’s my reasoning why:

Firstly, Sofuoglu. I don’t think he’s as strong as Lascorz for a start and to go at the same speed as Eugene or Joan he has to push hard and he may crash sometimes as he did in 2009. Also, his Ten Kate team appears to be getting a bit shirty about things. Up until last year there was always a friendly sportsmanship with Ten Kate but now that we have beaten them some members of the team seem stand-offish. That’s a shame as I have the utmost respect for such a professional team and my attitude towards them doesn’t change whether we win or lose. The fact they don’t have Factory Ohlins suspension and we do may also give us a slight edge, although to be fair to Ten Kate they have worked hard over the winter and their bike is closer to ours now. But for all the reasons above, I believe Sofuoglu will finish third in the Championship as he did last year. Consistency is always a good thing.

Just for clarity, I don’t think the other Ten Kate rider Pirro can maintain the consistency to be a title contender; he’s probably brought money to the team and got a good ride, but if he wanted the best Honda team he should have looked elsewhere.

Lascorz is consistently fast and talented, very close in level and ability to Eugene and I respect him and his team enormously. He will be tough to beat but I think the Parkalgar Honda package is overall stronger. My good friend Randy Mamola rode both bikes at the end of last year and while he confirmed the similar engine performance, he also said our Parkalgar Honda was much smoother and easier on tyres. It is that tyre management that should give us a slight edge. In the last couple of laps we should have a tyre performance advantage and that means a stronger finish. If all things go to plan then Lascorz will finish second this year and deserve it, he is an excellent racer.

Anyway, I am getting ready for tomorrow’s opening day of the 2010 World Supersport Championship and thought I’d share my opinions with you. Here’s to a good battle all weekend between the three riders above and I wonder if there are any bookies would take my bet…

Simon

I thought I’d put together a few words before the season properly begins this afternoon here at Phillip Island. It’s 08.30 on Friday morning and Pippa and I are sat watching the Winter Olympics on TV. The Aussie coverage is brilliant, we watch a review programme before bed then wake up the next morning and there’s another review from the day’s activities over there in Canada. That’s the beauty of the time difference out here!

The test went really well on Sunday and Monday with good weather and a big workload being taken care of. The three days off between the test and the race weekend have been great, it’s felt like a mini holiday here on Phillip Island as we’ve all just been mooching around bumping into each other at lunch! Simple things like mini golf were great craic with all the team taking part, Brains and Phil went 1 and 2 even though they’re both still nursing a broken wing each. I managed a hole in one on an impossible hole which was ‘L’ shaped so that made my day, best shot of my golfing career to date!

We also visited the chocolate factory and Amaze’N Things on the island. Both were mega, particularly the chocolate factory. Where else greets you with a tasty welcome chocolate upon arrival? Ok some hotels put a chocolate on your pillow, but never one that’s tasty enough to make you wanna call reception and ask for another!

I’m all set for the race weekend. I hope you die hard fans manage to stay awake long enough to watch the World Supersport race at 02.30GMT on Sunday morning. Keep an eye out for my new chrome-style Red Bull helmet, you can’t miss it!

Wish me luck,

Eugene

EUGENE LAVERTY finished third and Miguel Praia 12th after the official two-day test at Phillip Island in Australia ahead of this weekend’s opening round of the World Supersport Championship at the same track.

A new development tyre from Pirelli and changeable windy weather added different dimensions to the test but both racers took their time and approached the test professionally, learning and improving with every lap. The opening round of the Championship takes place this weekend at the dramatic sea-side circuit in Australia with practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday before the race at 1330 local time on Sunday.

Eugene: “Altogether it has been a really good test. We got lots of work done and we set the Parkalgar Honda up with the new tyre from Pirelli as well. It was really windy in the afternoon and the direction of the wind was tough – through the fast turns seven and eight I would normally be flat out but had to roll off the throttle as I was being caught by the wind. I am happy though, with the changing conditions and temperature you can need two bikes for this track and if you rush you can get things wrong but we have taken it in our stride. I am confident for the race that it will be between me, Sofuloglu and Lascorz – there could be a few others in there as well with Pirro and Foret posting good times.”

Miguel: “After 134-laps I am pretty tired, it was hard work over the two days with the conditions being so different. In the last session I was the only rider to better my lap time so we definitely improved my Parkalgar Honda. The morning was suited for quick times but I wasn’t ready to go then. The new tyre from Pirelli is taller and seems better suited to warmer conditions although I set my fastest time on a standard race tyre. I finished the last session in eighth which is where I expected and wanted to be so I am looking forward – we have a lot of information from all the laps to analyse and that will help us in the race.”

Simon Buckmaster, Team Manager, Parkalgar Honda: “Miguel ended the test strongly with an improved time while everyone else struggled in the wind; that will set him up well for the race. Eugene was right on the pace and he set his best time on the race rather than the development tyre, which is likely to be used this weekend in the race. We have learnt a lot and are in pretty good shape for the race.”

Phillip Island Test Overall Times

1 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′34.374
2 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1′34.691
3 50 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1′34.753
4 51 Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′34.793
5 37 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′34.994
6 99 Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′35.060
7 55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′35.379
8 16 Charpentier S. (FRA) Triumph Daytona 675 1′35.735
9 127 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 1′35.758
10 25 Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 1′35.764
12 117 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1′36.039

Over all best lap times from Phillip Island test.

1. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Provec ZX-6R 1min 34.374s

2. Kenan Sofioglu TUR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 1min 34.691s

3. Eugene Laverty IRL Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR 1min 34.753s

4. Michele Pirro ITA HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 1min 34.793s

5. Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN Kawasaki Provec ZX-6R 1min 34.994s

6. Fabien Foret FRA Lorenzini Kawasaki ZX-6R 1min 35.060s

7. Massimo Roccoli ITA Intermoto Czech Honda CBR600RR 1min 35.379s

8. Sebastien Charpentier FRA Triumph BE1 Racing 675 1min 35.735s

9. Robbin Harms ITA Harms Benjan Honda CBR600RR 1min 35.758s

10. David Salom ESP Triumph BE1 Racing 675 1min 35.764s

11. Chaz Davies GBR Triumph BE1 Racing 675 1min 35.906s

12. Miguel Praia POR Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR 1min 36.039s

13. Jason Di Salvo USA Triumph BE1 Racing 675 1min 36.074s

14. Gino Rea GBR Intermoto Czech Honda CBR600RR 1min 36.624s

15. Danilo Dell’Omo ITA Kuja Honda CBR600RR 1min 38.001s

16. Alexander Lundh SWE Cresto Guide Honda CBR600RR 1min 38.340s

17. Paolo Cazzola ITA Kuja Honda CBR600RR 1min 39.108s

Over all best lap times from Phillip Island test - Monday AM.

Over all best lap times from Phillip Island test - Sunday PM.

1. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Provec ZX-6R 1min 35.385s
2. Keenan Sofuglu TUR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 1min 35.579s
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN Kawasaki Provec ZX-6R 1min 35.766s
4. Eugene Laverty IRL Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR 1min 36.070s
5. Fabien Foret FRA Lorenzini Kawasaki ZX-6R 1min 36.158s
6. Michele Pirro ITA HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 1min 36.231s
7. David Salom ESP Triumph BE1 Racing 675 1min 36.344s

8. Miguel Praia POR Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR 1min 36.445s
9. Chaz Davies GBR Triumph BE1 Racing 675 1min 37.055s
10. Sebastien Charpentier FRA Triumph BE1 Racing 675 1min 37.223s
11. Massimo Roccoli ITA Intermoto Czech Honda CBR600RR 1min 37.288s
12. Jason Di Salvo USA Triumph BE1 Racing 675 1min 37.529s
13. Gino Rea GBR Intermoto Czech Honda CBR600RR 1min 37.792s
14. Robbin Harms ITA Harms Benjan Honda CBR600RR 1min 37.957s
15. Paolo Cazzola ITA Kuja Honda CBR600RR 1min 39.303s
16. Alexander Lundh SWE Cresto Guide Honda CBR

Check out the Photos from the Phillip Island test in the Gallery.

Over all best lap times from Phillip Island test - Sunday AM.