Eugene Laverty will remain in the World Superbike Championship in 2019 to ride the new Ducati V4 for the Go Eleven team.

Laverty will ride the new Ducati V4 in the series after a late deal was pulled together with direct support from Ducati Corse in Bologna.

It is a welcome boost for the 32-year-old, who had been left without a ride for next year after Shaun Muir signed Tom Sykes to head up his new-look factory-supported BMW team, plus Superstock 1000 champion Marcus Reiterberger.

The Toome man joins a host of top names on the new V4 next year, including Alvaro Bautista and Chaz Davies on the official Aruba.it Ducati machines and Michael Rinaldi (Barni Racing).

Laverty, the 2013 championship runner-up, said:

“I’m delighted to join Team Go Eleven to ride the new Ducati Panigale V4 R in 2019. The past five weeks has been a stressful period so it’s great to secure a competitive seat in the end.

“The support from Ducati is reassuring and I’m confident that we will have a package to fight for victory next season. Thank you to Denis Sacchetti and everyone at Team Go Eleven for putting their trust in me.”

Kyle White