Eugene Laverty (born 3 June 1986) is a professional motorcycle road racer from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, the brother of

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. For 2022, Laverty is contracted to ride for satellite BMW team Bonovo in

World Superbike Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded in ...

. Midway through the season, Laverty announced his intended retirement at the end of 2022, partly due to poor race results, to continue with the same team as a co-owner and rider coach. During 2021, Laverty rode in some World Superbike events before his RC Squadra Corse team withdrew from racing; further rides later in the season were as a replacement for injured BMW factory rider

Tom Sykes Tom Sykes (born 19 August 1985 in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England) is a professional motorcycle racer who has competed in World Superbike Championship since . For 2022, Sykes re-joins his former team Paul Bird Motorsport riding a Ducati i ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Toomebridge Toome or Toomebridge () is a small village and townland on the northwest corner of Lough Neagh in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies in the civil parish of Duneane in the former Barony (Ireland), barony of Toome Upper, and is in the Antr ...

, Laverty was runner-up in the 2004 British 125cc Championship. He had a successful year in 2006 aboard the Dunlop shod

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

Honda CBR600RR The Honda CBR600RR is a sport bike made by Honda since 2003, part of the CBR series. The CBR600RR was marketed as Honda's top-of-the-line middleweight sport bike, succeeding the 2002 Supersport World Champion 2001–2006 CBR600F4i, which was th ...

. He was a top challenger for the British Supersport title, but finished third overall behind

Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow (born 29 October 1985) is an English professional motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the 2020 season. He is contracted as a test rider for Yamaha Motor Racing, which he is expected to continue in 2022 and 2 ...

and

, with four wins. He had previously finished 9th overall as a series rookie in 2005.

250cc World Championship (2007–2008)

For

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, he raced in the 250cc

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

World Championship for LCR

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

finishing in 25th place overall with a best result of 14th. A strong run at Barcelona produced no points due to an engine problem. For it was expected that he would go back to Britain and further his career in Supersports or Superbikes, but he was signed by Blusens

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...

on 18 December to continue to race in 250cc with privateer motorcycles. He scored points in China and Portugal, but at

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

he crashed at the one remaining wet corner as the circuit dried.

Supersport World Championship (2008–2010)

Plans for him to make his World Superbike debut later that year were scrapped when Chris Walker joined the team full-time, but he instead joined the factory Yamaha team in World Supersport as a temporary replacement for the injured

Fabien Foret Fabien Foret born in Angoulême, France, is a professional motorcycle racer currently competing in the FIM Endurance World Championship aboard a Kawasaki ZX-10R. He has spent most of his career in the Supersport World Championship. After taking ...

. Despite riding injured following a crash at the

2008 Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix The 2008 Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourteenth round of the 2008 MotoGP Championship. It took place on the weekend of September 12–14, 2008 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – the first time the circuit has hosted a m ...

a week earlier, he moved up from an early 7th to battle championship leader

Andrew Pitt Andrew Pitt (born 19 February 1976 in Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia) is a retired motorcycle racer. He is a double World Supersport Champion, and has also won a World Superbike race and competed in MotoGP. He lives in Peel on the Isle o ...

and teammate

Broc Parkes Broc Parkes (born 24 December 1981) is an Australian motorcycle racer, best known for his success in the Supersport World Championship. He currently races in the Endurance FIM World Championship aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1. During 2015 he raced in ...

for 2nd. Parkes got the better of him, but he finished on the podium after surviving contact with Pitt which eliminated the Honda rider. He decided before this race to end his 250cc season, and focus on a full-time WSS ride for 2009. The young Irish man signed with the Parkalgar Honda World Supersport team for the 2009 season. On 14 March 2009 Laverty won his first

Supersport World Championship The Supersport World Championship, abbreviated to WorldSSP, is a motorcycle racing competition on hard-surfaced circuits, based on mid-sized sports motorcycles. Competition machines were originally based on production-based motorcycles with 600 ...

race at the

Losail International Circuit The Losail International Circuit or Lusail International Circuit (Arabic: حلبة لوسيل الدولية) is a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar. Built in just under a year by 1,000 workers ...

in Qatar, narrowly beating

Ten Kate Racing Ten Kate Racing is a motorcycle racing team competing in World Supersport with 2022 rider Dominique Aegerter. They previously competed in the Superbike World Championship with 2019 rider Loris Baz, and previously with Gulf Althea Racing BMW Moto ...

to the chequered flag. His win was also the first for the Parkalgar Honda team. He stacked up three more wins and four-second places to finish as series runner-up behind Yamaha rider

– ending Ten Kate's run of being the top Honda team for many years.

Superbike World Championship (2011–2014)

Laverty, on his Yamaha World Superbike, won his first

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded i ...

race at

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

on 8 May 2011. Eugene stood proudly as his national anthem was played just after race one. Later that afternoon, Laverty completed the double by winning race two, with fellow

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

teammate

Marco Melandri Marco Melandri (born 7 August 1982) is an Italian retired motorcycle road racer who is a five-time premier class race winner. He is the 2002 250 cc World Champion and runner-up in 125 cc, MotoGP and Superbike World Championship. He c ...

taking second spot. For 2012 Laverty rode a factory-specification

, partnering

Max Biaggi Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi (; born 26 June 1971) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who achieved six World Championships. With four 250 cc road race titles and two in World Superbikes, he is one of only two ri ...

MotoGP World Championship (2015–2016)

For the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

season, Laverty moved to MotoGP with the

Aspar Team Aspar Team (formerly Ángel Nieto Team) is a Grand Prix motorcycle racing team from Spain, competing in the Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE World Championships. History The team was created by former world champion Jorge Martínez in 1992, when he was s ...

, riding a Honda RC213V-RS open-specification motorcycle. He finished the season in 22nd place in the riders' championship standings, with a best result of 12th in

Catalunya Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the northe ...

. Laverty remained with the team – now riding Ducati Desmosedici GP14.2 motorcycles – for the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

season, where he partnered

Yonny Hernández Yonny Hernández may refer to: * Yonny Hernández (baseball), (born 1998), Venezuelan professional baseball infielder * Yonny Hernández (motorcyclist) Yonny Hernández Vega (born 25 July 1988) is a Colombian motorcycle racer. He is the older br ...

. In Argentina, he achieved his best results in MotoGP career with 4th place.

Timeline

In 2008 he had competed in both the 250cc World Championship and the World Supersport series, he then went on to be runner up in the

in both

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. In 2011 he moved up to the

with the factory

World Superbike team, alongside former MotoGP rider

. On 8 May he won his first

World Superbike Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded in ...

race at

and went on to complete the double in race two. For 2012 he moved to the Aprilia Racing Team and has been racing the Aprilia RSV4 alongside Max Biaggi, ending the championship in 6th position and competed for the 2013 championship in the same team alongside

Sylvain Guintoli Sylvain Guintoli (born 24 June 1982 in Montélimar) is a French professional motorcycle racer. He was FIM World Superbike Champion in 2014. He is contracted to the Suzuki MotoGP team as a test rider with occasional race entries, as a wild car ...

. In 2017 and 2018 Laverty competed in the World Superbikes aboard an

Aprilia RSV4 The Aprilia RSV4 is a super bike manufactured by Aprilia. The RSV4 is Aprilia's flagship model. Aprilia offers two models of the bike: the RSV4 Factory and RSV4 R limited edition (only 350). For 2016 it is offered in two models the RSV4 RR an ...

, before losing his position within the

Shaun Muir Racing Shaun Muir Racing (or SMR) is an international race team based in Guisborough, Redcar and Cleveland, Cleveland in the north-east of England. The team is owned by Shaun Muir, a former international superbike racer. In 2019, they became the BMW M ...

team to former Kawasaki rider

.Eugene Laverty secures spot in World Superbikes for 2019
''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...

'', 24 November 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019 For 2019 he was contracted to ride in the

for Team Go Eleven on a Ducati Panigale. During 2021 Laverty rode a few times for under-financed RC Squadra Corse BMW team and as a replacement for injured

Chaz Davies Chaz Davies (born 10 February 1987 in Knighton, Powys, Wales), is a former motorcycle racer who announced his retirement from competition in September 2021. For 2022, Davies is to become a rider-coach working with Ducati and Feel Racing, mentor ...

. For 2022, Laverty has signed to race in

for satellite BMW team Bonovo, together with team-mate

Loris Baz Loris Baz (born 1 February 1993) is a French motorcycle racer. He is competing for satellite BMW team Bonovo in the 2022 Superbike World Championship, together with Eugene Laverty. Baz has previously competed in World Superbikes for Ten Kate Rac ...

.Bonovo action BMW Racing Team to line up with Eugene Laverty and Loris Baz in the 2022 WorldSBK.
BMW Group, 22 October 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

By class

Races by year

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Supersport World Championship

By season

Races by year

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Superbike World Championship

By season

Races by year

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laverty, Eugene 1986 births Living people Twins from Northern Ireland Supersport World Championship riders Irish motorcycle racers Motorcycle racers from Northern Ireland Superbike World Championship riders 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders Aspar Racing Team MotoGP riders MotoGP World Championship riders