Laverty win keeps him in the hunt

Parkalgar Honda's Eugene Laverty won his seventh World Supersport Championship race from 11 starts at the Nurburgring in Germany to cut the gap in the title fight to just eight points with two races remaining.

With Laverty's main title rival Kenan Sofuoglu finishing third, it means the Irishman can now win the Championship if he wins the last two races.

Laverty's team mate Miguel Praia was battling in the top 12 before crashing mid-race. He bravely remounted to finish 14th and score points. The next and penultimate round of the Championship is at Imola in Italy on 26 September.

Laverty said afterwards: 'We needed that and it was not easy. We went a wrong direction with our set-up and the bike was a little loose in the race. I knew I had to break Kenan though so had to push the whole race and Gino came with me.

'The nice thing now is the title race is in my hands which it wasn't before - if I win both the last races then I will be Champion. That's a big ask as Kenan is strong particularly at Imola but with Parkalgar Honda I have the bike, package and team to do it.'

Praia said: 'My start was not great as I was blocked by Foret and Fujiwara but then I started to catch and pass people and make up positions. After about five laps my bike started to feel different compared to warm-up and I had less confidence in the front end.

'I kept pushing and was close to the fight for the top 10 when I lost the front at turn one. I managed to pick my Parkalgar Honda up and finish the race and score some points, which is important as a top 10 finish in the Championship is still a realistic goal.'

Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager commented: 'Eugene rode a great race and controlled it from the front. In the second half of the last lap he was masterful the way he kept momentum through the corners but selected the lines to defend his position.

'A great result and it is game on in the title race. Miguel was good in warm-up and on for a top 10 result when he went wide at turn one and crashed. He remounted to score two points and it shows the fight he has and he remains in touch for a top 10 Championship position.'