Eugene Laverty has won the Irish Motorcyclist of the Year Award, joining some greats of Irish racing from the past in receiving this accolade. Laverty is also unusual in winning as a short circuit rider, as historically most recipients are closed road racers, like Joey Dunlop, Phillip McCallen, Brian Reid and several others.


Said Laverty, "It was a nice award to get, it was the first time I have won it and it was a public vote. Last year Ryan Farquhar won it and it is normally road racers who get it, so it was nice to be recognised. Tom Herron was the first winner back in 1978 and Joey Dunlop won it five times. It is a very nice trophy and it has a replica of Joey Dunlop's crash helmet on top of it."



Laverty has now completed his last test of 2010, but alongside his team-mate Marco Melandri he will attend the official tests at Portimao in January 2011 and then the Phillip Island tests that will take place only a few days before the start of the new season, between 25 and 27 February.

Said Laverty, "Our recent Phillip Island tests went well, and it was a case of getting the bike adjusted to me a bit more. I have clicked with the bike as well. I am also getting on well with Marco; he is very laid back and down to earth. I am looking forward to riding at Portimao next time out, because in Australia there was only Aprilia and us, and we were definitely dodging each other on the track some of the times. This time there will be no escaping each other, and I really want to get a feel for what it is like to ride the Superbike in among other riders on track."