Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty is feeling confident going into the MCE British Superbike qualifying session tomorrow at Silverstone, after lapping 0.9s under the lap record this afternoon.
Laverty was P1 in FP2 and out-paced Showdown rivals, Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes and JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s James Ellison with a 2’05.370. The Wales-based rider lapped a 2’05.0 when he had full electronics on the Swan Yamaha, and has the 2’04’s as his next target.
The former MotoGP racer was hoping to come to the historic circuit to challenge Brookes, and he did just that today, going one tenth quicker than the Australian.
A new factory swing-arm and an improved throttle connection has made a massive difference to his S1000RR and now he is enjoying riding his bike, which is something he couldn’t say at the start of the season.
“I am so much happier on the bike, and we made a couple of tweaks with the bike before we started and within five laps I felt at home on the bike, and we were topping the timesheets and it’s the first time I have had that feeling all year” said Laverty, speaking to bikesportnews.com.
“It’s nice to back it up, I thought we could come here and have something for Josh and today it looks that way, and I have the pace to race for wins and I feel really happy.
“The combination of the new swing-arm and better throttle connection has made a big difference for me. I enjoy riding it and I love the bike and at the beginning of the year I wouldn’t have said that as I felt I was fighting with it and I wish I had this motorbike all year - but this was a brand new bike and we had to learn about it.
“BMW developed the swing-arm when they were the full factory team in World Superbikes and it helps me ride right to the edge on a slick tyre. It was a big investment to the team and thanks to the team for that.
“When we had full electronics when I was on the Swan Yamaha I think I did a 2’05.0 so I have been faster, so I would like to dip into the fours - but a 5.3 is not hanging about and I am happy with what we did today.”
