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Jerez WSBK test: Laverty pleased with pace on used tyres

Milwaukee Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty ran into some electronics problems on his final day of World Superbike testing at Jerez which limited the Monegasque’s outright laptime but he was pleased the pace the RSV4 showed on used tyres.

Laverty used two different bikes and said he was looking at dropping into the 1’40s lap bracket but difficulties with engine braking in the afternoon exits meant he couldn’t get the speed he was looking for on a new tyre.

“There were bits and pieces I like from both bikes, with the different engine as well. That is the one I ended up using for the second half of the day. We had some problems with that one, to be honest, with engine braking and that is where I was losing performance,” said Laverty, speaking at the track.

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“I really liked it mid-corner, and releasing the brakes and getting on the gas was much better so that was a positive point but we lost in other areas. In the end I wasn’t able to have the performance I had on the other bike. So we need to take one point from one engine and put the two together.

“The chassis is still inconclusive. I am not braking well enough, I was improving but with this Pirelli front, I need to squeeze the brake more. This year, we haven’t been able to squeeze the brake and I have got into the style of not braking so strongly, so I need to get back into a style. There is a lot of potential in the bike, I just have to improve my braking.

“I was pleased with my pace earlier on when we were looking at some 1’40s but then we moved to the other bike and it lost me so much in entry and turning. The good thing was I was still fast using old tyres on that bike but it was just the new tyre I couldn’t do anything with. We’ve got food for thought for next year.

“The Pirellis are still at a good level, the bike has changed a lot. Where they guys had it chassis-wise was different to what would I like from it. We looked at what I had in my last-ever race on it and it was a different direction. We changed it for the first exit on Wednesday on old tyres and went a second quicker.”

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