Northern Ireland’s Eugene Laverty made his MotoGP debut on the Drive M7 Aspar Honda during the first day of the post-season test at Valencia in Spain on Monday.

The world championship ended on Sunday as Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez completed a dominant season in perfect style with a stunning victory, but for 28-year-old Laverty the conclusion of the 2014 premier class season heralded an exciting new beginning in his career.

The Toomebridge man joins 2006 world champion Nicky Hayden in the Spanish team after signing a two-year deal and returns to the Grand Prix paddock following a stint in the 250cc class as a privateer in the LCR Honda and Blusens Aprilia teams in 2007 and 2008.

Laverty, whose older brother Michael completed his final MotoGP race on Sunday after Paul Bird’s decision to withdraw his PBM team from the class, chalked up 45 laps on the 2014 version of the RCV1000R Honda used this season by Hiroshi Aoyama, setting a best time of 1m 34.320s.

His time was the 21st fastest lap overall, placing him between fellow rookies Loris Baz (Forward Yamaha) and Jack Miller (LCR Honda).

“We completed 45 laps today; the first 20 were to get to know the bike, which is completely different to what I am used to riding,” Laverty said.

“After the first few laps I started to enjoy myself. The biggest difference I noticed today was with the tyres, the way you need to make them slide and the limits you can reach with them. The Honda handles really well and with these tyres you have a lot of control, it’s good fun.

“It was useful to have my brother Michael on hand to give me advice on when and where to push. I love the feeling with the rear of this bike, you can really slide it a lot,” added Laverty, who has confirmed his appearance at the Adelaide Motorcycle Awards in Belfast in January.

“We worked today mainly with used tyres and the first impression was very positive. Hopefully I can continue to get to know the bike tomorrow and gradually chip away at the lap times.”

Laverty competed for the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki World Superbike team this season, finishing tenth overall, but last year pushed Tom Sykes all the way as he secured the runner-up spot in the championship on the Aprilia RSV4.

He also twice finished second in the World Supersport class in 2009 and 2010 before switching to World Superbikes in 2011.

Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo posted the best lap on the opening day of the test at Valencia in 1m 30.975s to lead the way from Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith, with Valentino Rossi fourth fastest on the second of the Movistar M1s.



Kyle White
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