Aspar Honda’s Eugene Laverty bagged a MotoGP personal best qualifying in Austin and had the pace to get deep into the points but a rough five laps midrace meant he dropped out of 12th place.

The Monegasque says that was all part of the learning experience and hopes to put what he gained to good use in Argentina this weekend as he makes his debut at another circuit.

“Everything went pretty well in America. It was just in the middle of the race I had a few problems but that was a learning thing. Conditions changed a lot for the race. I rode a good race except those five laps in the middle that cost me 13th, but that’s all part of the learning experience,” said Laverty.

“It was a boost because I knew there was a lot more to come from me with more time on the bike at Austin. We didn’t really get enough of a go there so it was positive after missing out on Friday due to the conditions that we weren’t too far away. So it gives me hope that there’s more to come from this bike. We’ve got to keep working at it. The engine is strong enough, we’ve just got to get the rest of it dialled in.”

Laverty has a vastly more experienced team-mate, certainly in MotoGP terms, in Nicky Hayden but says he doesn’t ride the RC213V-RS in the same way - in fact he has begun to slide it around like his old Supersport CBR600.

“Nicky I think has a different riding style. I think Nicky and Cal both ride the Honda different to anybody. They have a different way around the track, I guess. But this Honda is pretty versatile. You can ride it in different ways. The Yamaha needs to flow and needs to be ridden in a certain way and it looks like there are a few different ways of riding the Honda. Obviously Marc’s has got to be the best.
 
“Well with how Marc is on the bike, yeah he is pretty loose on it. I feel comfy. There are some things I’ve now learned in Austin that I’m able to do on the bike that a lot of the other Hondas aren’t able to do. A different style of corner and Austin had a couple of those rights where I was able to get back almost to my Supersport ways. Where I used to slide the Supersport bike. With these tyres I seem to be able to do that again, so it’s a nice trick to have.”