Relentless Suzuki's Michael Laverty is still on a high following his maiden victory in the BSB Championship at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday.After qualifying ninth at what Michael calls his 'bogie track' he finished fifth in race one following a frantic last lap scrap with his team mate Alastair, his brother John and Josh Brookes. A set-up change didn't pay off but he fought on to grab valuable points.
Michael Laverty
"I made a chassis change for race one which didn't allow me to ride at 100%. As the race progressed I figured out how to ride around it, by basically going slower I could go faster over a lap if that makes sense? It allowed me to get involved in the fight for the last podium place which went to my brother John. I got pipped to the post by 0.006 of a second for fourth position. I was happy enough with fifth considering how I was struggling during the race and also I was made up for John to grab his first BSB podium finish."
In race two Michael made amends in very tricky conditions, taking his first BSB victory by a margin of six seconds at the flag. Michael made his way to the front by the end of the opening lap and was never headed, continually setting fastest laps until he had built up an eight second cushion over second placed man Michael Rutter.
He cruised the last few laps to take an emphatic debut victory for the Relentless Suzuki Squad.
Michael Laverty
"That’s was more like it! I had the perfect bike set-up for the conditions and I knew if I could get to the front I could control the race. I kept an eye on my pitboard, although I was surprised how easily the gap was going up. I wasn't pushing that hard and consciously trying to save my tire in-case someone attacked later in the race. The hardest part was the celebration wheelies as they kept dropping sooner than I wanted due to the anti wheelie system on the bike! Seriously though I would like to thank my team for all the effort, especially during all the bad luck in the early races, and also for giving me the perfect bike for the conditions!"
Michael now sits fourth overall in the standings and is hoping for more of the same when the championship resumes in just under 3 weeks time at Cadwell park. In the mean time he plans to head back home to Northern Ireland to support his team mates at the North West 200 on May 15th.
