Laverty seals victory in Italy

Parkalgar Honda star Eugene Laverty claimed his fifth win of the season in the World Supersport Championship at Misano in Italy on Sunday afternoon.

Laverty, who is now three points clear of Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Kenan Sofuoglu in the overall standings, seized the lead on lap three and controlled the race until the chequered flag.

The riders head to Brno in the Czech Republic on 11 July for round nine of the campaign.

A delighted Laverty told reporters: ‘Early on in the race I bided my time as I didn’t want to make any silly mistakes, then I got into the lead and kept pushing.

‘When Kenan made a mistake I went for it. My Parkalgar Honda was spot on; we made a breakthrough on front end feel in warm-up and then we improved it again for the race. We got the bike doing exactly what I wanted it to do so it’s a big thank you to the whole team.

‘It is a relief and weight off my shoulders to be back in the lead of the Championship. I got to within one point and it reminded me of last year when I got close but it always went away from me, so it’s nice to get into the lead where we belong and to have five wins out of eight races.’