Eugene Laverty in race one suffered a significant crash on turn eight of the fourth lap. Laverty was able to jump back on his bike in race two and complete the race in the points.

Eugene Laverty, Yamaha World Superbike Team - DNF, 14th
“Not a good day today. The race one crash was bizarre; I don’t really know what happened. I almost crashed in the corner before and lost a little bit of confidence afterwards. Race two started well but I had to push really hard. We still haven’t found the right settings for me; we need to fine tune to suit my riding style. I know I’ve got potential, so do the bike and the team, we just need to work hard to combine it all. “

Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager - Andrea Dosoli

“I’m extremely sorry for Eugene. He suffered quite a bad crash in race one but thankfully was not hurt. He had difficulty delivering the results we’d hoped for in race two, I believe he has a lot of potential and can be much faster. We need to work hard with him in order demonstrate what he’s made of. Overall it was very difficult to race in such extreme weather conditions as in race one. I’m looking forward to Assen where I strongly believe we can show how competitive the bike is and have both our riders in the top where they they should be.”

Eugene Laverty crashed in race one today. After getting checked over by the Doctors in the medical centre he got the all clear to race in Race 2. More details will follow in the Yamaha press release.

Donington park today saw a frustrating and challenging Superpole session for the Yamaha World Superbike riders, Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty. Bitterly cold weather conditions and a track temperature of over 19 degrees less than yesterday’s first Qualifying session saw all 16 riders on the track struggle to complete the Superpole in ideal times.

Laverty was victim of a cold track losing the front end of his bike on turn three of his out lap. The Superbike Rookie luckily walked away unhurt and managed to get back out with five minutes to go and push back up from 16th to 12th position. Unfortunately he missed out on the opportunity to partake in the second heat of Superpole by just one place after being bumped to 13th in the dying seconds.

Marco
“I’m disappointed to be starting on third row of the grid tomorrow, but that’s what happens in Superpole. I’m just sorry that it was another rider’s fault. Biaggi showed his true professionalism today, he cut in front of me even though he clearly had seen me and that’s not how a World Champion should be riding. I’m going out there tomorrow even more determined than ever and I believe our race pace is good. “

Eugene
“It wasn’t an ideal Superpole today, Phillip Island went problem free and we finished fifth there so we were hoping to do much better here. We saw how cruel Superpole can be sometimes, we are starting from 13th on the grid tomorrow, however I’m confident I can get through the pack. Marco is just ahead of me on third row and he’s strong on the first lap so I’ve got to tuck in behind him and slice through together. Whatever set up we choose I feel confident I can ride the track to its maximum.”

Andrea
“It’s definitely not the starting positions we were hoping for after the impressive times we had in free practice and qualifying practice. Unfortunately Eugene lost the front end and had a significant crash and lost some valuable time, luckily he was unhurt. He wasn’t confident to go back out on the qualifier so he used the race tyre and that didn’t provide a fast enough lap to get him through to Superpole two. I believe if Marco and Eugene can get off the grid well then they can definitely provide a good race. The weather conditions are extreme and after the sunshine yesterday we are back to the typical British weather for this time of year. It’s due to be cold again tomorrow and maybe we should try to avoid racing in the future in such cold conditions.”

Superbike - Qualifying Practices + Superpole

1. 7 CHECA Carlos (ESP) Althea Racing Ducati – 1′29.194
2. 91. HASLEM Leon (GBR) BMW Motorrad Motorsport - 1′29
3. 66 SYKES Tom (GBR) Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike - 1′30.842
4. 96 SMRZ Jakub (CZE) Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati - 1′29.397
5. 41 HAGA Noriyuki (JPN) PATA Racing Team Aprilia - 1′32.272 – 107 Laps
6. 3 BIAGGI Max (ITA) Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team- 1′28.794
7. 2 Camier Leon (GBR) Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team
8. 4 REA Jonathan (GBR) Castrol Honda - 1′30.184
9. 8. 33 MELANDRI Marco (ITA) Yamaha World Superbike Team - 1′28.841
10. 11 CORSER Troy (AUS) BMW Motorrad Motorsport - 1′30.970
11. 84 FABRIZIO Michel (ITA) Team Suzuki Alstare - 1′30.789
12. 17 LASCORZ Joan (ESP) Kawasaki Racing Team - 1′30.687
13. 58 LAVERTY Eugene (IRL) Yamaha World Superbike Team - 1′30.985

LOOK what’s App-enning at Donington Park this weekend – it’s the chance to meet the Eugene Laverty App Girls and have your photograph published here on www.eugenelaverty.com for all to see.
Last month Eugene made history when he became the first rider to launch his own official iPhone App, which shot into the top ten of sports Apps within a few hours of its release.
And this weekend he has enlisted the help of the Eugene Laverty App Girls to spread the word and encourage more and more people to start using the already popular App.
Decked out in Laverty clothing and carrying a huge iPhone, they will be out and about around the circuit on raceday – you can’t miss them.
Fans can get up close and personal with the App Girls who will be demonstrating how to access and use the programme, as well as offer help for those wanting to purchase it.
And as a special bonus, the Eugene Laverty App Girls will be giving you the chance to have your photograph taken with them, which will be then displayed here on www.eugenelaverty.com.
So make sure you look out for the girls at the track on raceday – we can’t wait to see all of your photographs adorning our gallery page soon

Check out young Aaron Miles. Eugene is very proud to have such a creative fan. Aaron before setting off to Donington Park had his head painted (with body paint) to replicate Eugene’s new 2011 Shoei helmet. Very impressive!

Just to let everyone know I am ok after my crash today. Will give more details later.

The second round of the World Superbike Championship got underway at Donington today with Yamaha World Superbike Team riders Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty taking provisional front row starts from the first qualifying session. Both riders spent today’s free practice and subsequent qualifying session working through further electronic set up possibilities with their Yamaha YZF-R1s, focusing on the rear of the bike.

Melandri’s teammate Laverty was on similar form, the young rider from Northern Ireland focusing on set up for the majority of the sessions before switching to a softer tyre in the last minutes. Laverty then climbed to fourth on the standings for a provisional front row ahead of tomorrow’s second qualifying session and Superpole heats, just 0.585 from the front of the pack.

Eugene Laverty, Yamaha World Superbike Team - 4th, 1′29.379
“A very good first practice this morning. We were low down in the classification but we knew that what we were testing this afternoon would make a big step and a guarantee a provisional front row which is perfect. It’s nice to put a safe lap in now which should put us through to Superpole. Tomorrow morning we’ll work on our race setting and be ready for the two races on Sunday.”

Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager - Andrea Dosoli
“We had a good start to the event here in Donington Park, the first day went well. Both Marco and Eugene were working on a different set-up, concentrating mainly on the rear of the bike. In Phillip Island we used an extreme set up and now we have gone back to original settings. We are satisfied having both riders in the top four positions, moving forward they are both working on a few details, to be ready tomorrow for the second qualifying practice. The bike has performed well in both Phillip Island and in Donington on completely different set ups, so that proves the bike is very competitive and the riders are fast.”