LAVERTY ON FRONT ROW
11 September 2004 - Honda Racing

Eugene Laverty has qualified in second position for the 12th round of the British 125GP Championship at the 2.692-mile Oulton Park track ahead of his nearest rival and series leader Christian Elkin.

It is the 18-year-old’s seventh front row start of the season for Red Bull Rookies Honda.

Laverty is focused on a win aboard the RS125 in the penultimate race of the Honda-dominated series to keep his championship challenge on track. The Ulster teenager is 16 points behind Elkin going into the penultimate round and knows that nothing less than a victory will suffice.

The Toomebridge rider spent the majority of the morning and afternoon qualifying sessions in third place behind Ashley Beech and Elkin. However, with just a few minutes remaining, he posted a lap time of 1:47.395 to claim the second spot on the starting line for tomorrow’s 14-lap race.

Team-mate Steven Neate will start from the head of row three after qualifying in ninth. The 17-year-old Barton-le-Clay rider had been running in the top six for the majority of the second session. Neate is hoping for his second podium of 2004 this weekend after crossing the line in third at Oulton Park in May.

Eugene Laverty: “I’ve made some good progress this afternoon on the Red Bull Rookies Honda. Ashley’s time was impressive and so I’m satisfied with taking second behind him. In terms of the championship, I’ve got a slight advantage going into tomorrow’s race – and my aim will be to make the most of it. I had bad luck here earlier in the season when I failed to finish, so hopefully I’ll have a reversal of fortune here tomorrow.”

Steven Neate: “I’m reasonably happy with my position on the grid – even though I just missed out on the second row. I was struggling to record a fast time on my own, but was able to improve while following some of the quicker riders. However, that worked well for me when I finished third earlier in the season. A repeat performance would do nicely tomorrow.”

Qualifying times: 1. A. Beech (Honda) 1:46.469; 2. E. Laverty (Red Bull Rookies Honda) 1:47.395; 3. C. Elkin (Honda) 1:47.754; 4. K. Weston (Honda) 1:47.976; 5. J. Dickinson (Honda) 1:48.175; 6. B. Clark (Honda) 1:48.334; 7. M. Wilcox (Honda) 1:48.383; 8. J. Pearson (Honda) 1:48.423; 9. S. Neate (Red Bull Rookies Honda) 1:48.585; 10. D. Cooper (Honda) 1:48.720

www.honda-racing.co.uk

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