Eugene Laverty has made his debut in Aprilia colours ahead of his first World Superbike Championship season with the manufacturer.

A teaser shot of Laverty posing alongside new team-mate Max Biaggi appeared on Aprilia Racing’s official Facebook page ahead of the 2012 team’s official launch.

Though not a full image of either rider in their full leathers for 2012, the shots appear to confirm there will be no prominent Alitalia branding associated with the team this season, the Italian national airliner having provided title backing for the last two years.

The company was also missing from Aprilia’s full team title on the official entry list announced last month.

As such, Aprilia looks set to revert to the corporate red and black hues it raced with during its comeback season in 2009, though images of the RSV-4 itself have not been released as yet.

Laverty joins the 2010 WSBK title-winning Aprilia team after a successful rookie campaign with Yamaha in 2011.

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I really enjoyed the festive season having spent Christmas at Pippa’s parents’ home in England before returning to Northern Ireland to see out 2011. Whilst I was in England I went trials riding every other day with Pippa’s step-brother Lee. The trials facility at North East Karting is excellent and it’s got me thinking about adding a few tractor tyres and skips to the garden so that I have my very own trials arena! I’m not sure Pippa or the neighbours would be so keen on it though. Trials riding is my favourite off-road pastime because of how much your body position affects the handling. I’m a guy who thrives on repetition (my job is to go round in circles continuously) so I’m happy to attack the same obstacle a couple hundred times before moving on to another. It is bordering on the definition of insanity but hey, we’re all not so far away from there.

I also took in a cross-country MX race the other day but that didn’t work out so well. I’d competed in the event twice before, once on an MX bike and the other time on an enduro bike. Both times I’d enjoyed myself even though the ground had been frozen solid with frost. This time around I was riding a motocross bike and the temperature was slightly above zero which caused big issues for my machine. Mud just gathered on the tyres and on some parts of the course it felt like I was riding on slick tyres! It was pretty dangerous so I had to tiptoe my way around. I snuck out on my friend Barney’s enduro bike for two laps which was tons more fun and had the potential to lap a minute faster over a two mile course. Nevertheless the craic was good in the pit area which is half the battle.

It’s been seven weeks since my last blog entry and in that time my sister Catherine got married. An Irish wedding party is always entertaining and this one was no exception. That’s three of the siblings married and settled down so the pressure is now mounting on us other three. I’ve got a world title to win before I even think about that sort of thing so for now it’s head down and blinkers on! I enjoyed another successful test aboard the Aprilia at the end of November and it was great to have all my crew around me for the first time. I’ve brought Marcus Eschenbacher and Phil Marron along with me to Aprilia and already the Noale guys have made us feel a part of the team. My next outing will be in Phillip Island where we have five days of testing planned before the race weekend even begins so I’m looking forward to working on the perfect lap of the circuit. Like I said, repetition is my thing!

May I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2012.

Eugene

2. Eugene Laverty

Nationality: Irishman
Team: Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha YZF-R1
Wins: 2
Podiums: 6
Championship points: 303
Championship position: 4th

When compiling this vote for the 2011 World Superbike Rider of the Year, one of the more interesting developments was to see whom would emerge top between Yamaha riders Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty.

Both came into 2011 as Superbike rookies, albeit from different directions, with Melandri arriving after several years in MotoGP, while Laverty was stepping up from the World Supersport Championship.

As we know, Melandri would go on to finish second in the standings, with Laverty in fourth, yet it is the Irishman that emerges ahead of his team-mate in your vote here – even if it was incredibly close throughout…

Laverty was a welcome revelation in 2011, his transition to Superbike racing proving incredibly seamless as he challenged at the front from the outset. His remarkable double victory at Monza was as accomplished as it was unexpected, a popular career peak after many years of hard graft to get to this point.

Though he often found himself bridging the gap between the ‘big three’ of Checa, Biaggi and Melandri, Laverty was remarkably consistent, particularly in qualifying as he notched up seven front row starts in 13 races. Indeed, although Laverty was only on the podium on six occasions in 2011, he still managed 18 top five finishes!

Already fast and reliable, many still feel there is much more to come from Laverty, more so than Checa, Melandri and Biaggi just a few metres up the road – and occasionally behind - most Sunday afternoons.

Looking ahead to 2012, though he will have a new bike to understand in 2012 following his decision to join Aprilia in the wake of Yamaha’s withdrawal, Laverty is already being touted as a potential title contender. On the evidence of his maiden season, his rivals – and new team-mate Biaggi – should be worried…

Top 10 WSBK Rider of the Year 2010: N/A
Top 10 WSBK Rider of the Year 2009: N/A
Top 10 WSBK Rider of the Year 2008: N/A

Top 10 WSBK Rider of the Year 2011:

3. Marco Melandri
4. Jonathan Rea
5. Tom Sykes
6. Sylvain Guintoli
7. Leon Haslam
8. Ayrton Badovini
9. Max Biaggi
10. Noriyuki Hag

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The former Yamaha man was on terrific form, powering his RSV4 to the new unofficial lap record of the Portuguese track in 1 minute 42.7 seconds, a fraction quicker than Max Biaggi’s mark of 1′42.774 set in 2010. But his Italian team leader was himself just a whisker behind, lapping in 1′42.8 by the end of the day. The third Aprilia rider present, Chaz Davies from the ParkinGO team, also went well, notching up a time of 1′43.2. All the Aprilia riders lapped exclusively on race tyres.

Overall unofficial times (with qualifying tyre times in brackets): 1. Laverty (Aprilia) 1′42.7; 2. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1′42.8; 3. Badovini (BMW) 1′43.1 (1′42.5); 4. Haslam (BMW) 1′43.1 (1′42.2); 5. Melandri (BMW) 1′43.1 (1′42.4); 6. Davies (Aprilia) 1′43.2; 7. Camier (Suzuki) 1′43.8; 8. Fabrizio (BMW) 1′43.9 (1′43.3); 9. Seeley (Suzuki) 1′44.1 (1′43.5).

For the rest of this story and more go to http://www.worldsbk.com

Eugene Laverty suffered his first crash onboard his factory Aprilia at Portimao yesterday - and it was a big one. The 25 year old Irishman who finished the day second fastest had a huge high side on the approach to turn ten.

Although heavily winded, Laverty sustained no serious injury and returned to the track after the crash on his spare bike.

Speaking to MCN moments after the crash he said: “It was certainly a big one. There was a rider in front of me and I think that took my focus away just a little bit and I ended up just a little bit wide on the apex of the left. I tried to bring the bike back on line when I lost the rear.

“I thought I’d saved it but then it went the other way and then back again and it flung me off. The bike kind of chased me along the ground and although it was close to me I don’t think it actually hit me. I was really badly winded and it took me a while to catch my breath, a while longer to get to my knees and then a bit longer to actually get to my feet.

“In a way I think I was kind of due a big one, I haven’t crashed since Misano so I guess you could say that I had it coming! The first crash I had on the Yamaha was a big one at Phillip Island – so hopefully I’ve got it out of the way.”

Although no one was there to photograph the crash, MCN took a picture of the bike after it returned to the paddock. The damage doesn’t look so bad, but the picture was taken after both wheels had been replaced because they were completely destroyed in the crash and the Aprilia team had to change them to enable them to manoeuvre the bike.

Testing at the Portuguese circuit concludes today before the six week WSB testing ban comes in to effect.

This story is from Motorcycle News for more stories like this go to http://www.motorcyclenews.com

Eugene Laverty will be at the Motorcycle Live show held at the NEC Birmingham this Saturday 26th November. You will be able to catch him at the following:

11:30 - 12:00 Autograph signing Shoei -Hall 4 Stand G530
12.30 – 13.00 Silverstone Challenge - Hall 2, Hall 3 Stand B125
13.30 – 14.00 Question of Bikes - Hall 3 Black Horse stage
14.00 – 14.25 Whitham SBK - Hall 3 Black Horse stage
15.45 – 16.15 Autograph signing Shoei -Hall 4 Stand G530

For more details of the show go to - http://www.motorcyclelive.co.uk

Only Carlos and I had found the best race tyre during practice and I knew that we were going to show our cards in race one. The others switched to the same rear tyre as us for race two and so I found myself with a real fight on my hands. I pushed on at the front looking after my rear tyre ready for those final laps but unexpectedly it was my front tyre that gave up the ghost with just a handful of laps remaining. 2nd was the best I could manage which put me level on points with Biaggi overall in the standings. I lost out on 3rd in the championship on countback due to Max securing more 2nd place finishes over the course of the season (we both had two race wins each). I’m glad a lot of you seemed to enjoy my ‘elevator’ imitation during my post race interview. It all started over a joke with Matt Roberts and Toby Moody back at the ‘Fastest’ movie premiere and I said I’d do it if I won another race this season. I may not have won but I thought what the hell, it’s the final race of the year! I leave the 2011 season with fond memories of my superbike debut with Yamaha and working with a great bunch of guys.

As you all know I’ve signed to ride for Aprilia in 2012 and I got my first taste of the bike on Tuesday after the final round. I finished up quickest lapping at lap record pace so I guess you could say I was pleased with my day’s work. Back home I’ve been training long hours during the week and trials riding on weekends. My friend Tubman edited a cool video of us in action and it makes for entertaining viewing as always! Finesse is not a strong point of ours on trials bikes. Former world championship rider Rob Crawford and his buddy Russell Houston have been giving us lessons as well as getting wrapped up in our daft attempts at the impossible! The craic is incredible and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend an Autumn afternoon.

It’s been a long day today as I woke up at 03.30 this morning to catch a flight from Dublin. I’m currently on the return leg of my journey but my flight was delayed the guts of an hour so it could be 02.00 before I get home. Some of you will think I’m crazy but a 23 hour day is worth it for two consecutive nights in my own bed! I attended the Milan Motorcycle Show today for the World Superbike organisers Infront and I was pretty impressed with the scale of the whole operation. It’s a huge show and it would take a week to get around everything!

I get another spin on the Aprilia at Portimao at the end of this month so I look forward to my first proper test on the bike with all my crew onboard. The weather is usually fairly hit and miss on the Algarve at this time of year so fingers crossed we get some dry tracktime.

Eugene