LAVERTY SPLASHES ONTO PODIUM
25 September 2005 - Honda Racing

The 12th and penultimate round of the Metabo British Supersport Championship brought a deserved first podium position finish of the season to Eugene Laverty.

The Red Bull Honda CBR600RR was brought home in third place at the demanding Donington Park Grand Prix circuit in the most challenging of conditions.

A heavy shower of rain before the start meant that the Supersport field had no option but to choose wet tyres for the duration of the 18-lap race. Laverty’s Dunlop rubber gave him the confidence to make steady progress in the opening stages of a typically dramatic Supersport encounter before staking his claim for a podium position.

Fifth at the end of the first lap, the 19-year-old Ulsterman lost one position to championship leader and fellow Honda rider Leon Camier on lap three at the Foggy Esses. As the track conditions improved and a dry racing line appeared, the chasing pack closed down on early leader Cal Crutchlow who crashed out on lap nine.

That incident, coupled with an impressive passing manoeuvre on Camier, elevated Laverty to third position three laps later. Despite increasing pressure from Craig Jones and Stuart Easton, the rising Red Bull Honda star held a decisive 2.1-second advantage at the chequered flag.

The British Supersport Championship will go down to the wire at Brands Hatch in two weeks. Crutchlow’s mistake effectively ended his hopes of clinching the title, but his team-mate Jones finished ahead of Camier to close the gap to 22 points at the top of the series standings.

Eugene Laverty: “After some of the bad luck I’ve had this year, I’m really happy to have taken my first podium finish in my debut Supersport season. The conditions were difficult, but we had a wet practice earlier in the weekend and I was confident that we had selected the most effective Dunlop wet tyres.

“I’ve had some good qualifying performances this season, but haven’t been able to match these positions over race distance – until today. I’m particularly pleased for everyone associated with Red Bull Honda. I would like to thank them for all of their help and support over the 2005 season.”

Race result: 1. P. Riba (Kawasaki) 32:44.740; 2. J. Vincent (Honda) +7.749; 3. E. Laverty (Red Bull Honda) +18.150; 4. C. Jones (Honda) +20.260; 5. S. Easton (Ducati) +20.709; 6. J. Robinson (Honda) +23.893; 7. L. Camier (Honda) +24.312; 8. S. Andrews (Suzuki) +32.391; 9. M. Llewellyn (Honda) +32.625; 10. L. Dickinson (Honda) +58.373

Fastest lap: 1:46.159 – Jones (lap 17)

Championship points: 1. Camier – 191; 2. Jones – 169; 3. Riba – 155; 4. Crutchlow – 145; 5. Easton – 136; 6. Sykes – 106; 7. Robinson – 103; 8. Vincent – 91; 9. Laverty – 74; 10. Andrews – 60

www.honda-racing.co.uk

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