Drive M7 Aspar Signs Laverty
The Drive M7 Aspar team continues to develop its plan for 2015 MotoGP. The latest announcement was the signing of Eugene Laverty, who currently rides a Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 in World Superbike.
Laverty will pilot the revised Honda RC213V-RS in 2015 MotoGP alongside current Drive M7 Aspar rider Nicky Hayden. Laverty is taking the seat of Hayden’s current teammate, Hiroshi Aoyama.
Laverty, of Toomebridge, Northern Ireland, is no stranger to Grand Prix racing. He competed in the former 250 MotoGP class in 2007 and 2008. He then moved to World Supersport, finishing runner up twice (2009 and 2010), and then World Superbike in 2011, where he finished runner up in 2013.
In six seasons of production racing, the 28-year-old has ridden a host of different machinery for various manufacturers, winning races for all of them, showing his adaptability as a rider.
“I am very excited to take on this new challenge. My greatest wish was to compete in MotoGP and finally it will be granted thanks to the DRIVE M7 Aspar Team. I have had to wait quite a long time but finally the chance is here and my dream has become a reality. I learnt a lot the last time I was in the MotoGP paddock, but I was very young back then and I didn’t have the right material to succeed,” Laverty says.
“Now I am coming back in the top category on a competitive bike and with an experienced team. I have had to be patient but now I am ready for this. Since moving up to Superbikes I have had to adapt to lots of different bikes and I have won on all of them, which has been a good experience for me.
“I guess this can be an advantage as I switch categories. One of the main reasons I have signed with the DRIVE Aspar Team is because of Jorge and Gino (Borsoi), who are top professionals with huge experience in the best championship in the world. I am sure I will learn a lot from them.”
Team manager Jorge Martinez said, “Eugene Laverty is a rider we were already in contact with last year, we tried to sign him then and even though we didn’t manage it at the time he is a rider we have been interested in for a long time. I think he is a rider with great potential, he has produced some incredible races in Supersport and Superbikes, and he has a lot of wins on his record with a lot of different manufacturers, which says a lot about his capacity to adapt.
“Maybe he hasn’t had the luck that you always need to win a world title but I am sure that he will give 100 percent to the DRIVE M7 Aspar Team. I am sure he will continue to develop as a rider and he can bring a lot to this team. He is ready to make the step to MotoGP. Next year we will have a new, more competitive Honda, and I have a lot of hope invested in our MotoGP project. I am sure we will achieve great results together.”
Besides signing Laverty, the Aspar team reports it will depart from Moto2 to focus more on its Moto3 efforts in 2015 with Mahindra machinery being ridden by Juanfran Guevara, 2014 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup champion Jorge Martin and possibly a third rider.
Speaking of this, Martinez adds, “We want to have winning projects and exciting projects. We have had a complicated and difficult year and now we want to concentrate more on our Moto3 project with Mahindra and to give 100% with our MotoGP team.”