IN
THE
WIND
P42
LAVERTY BACK TO
WORLDSBK
E
ugene Laverty will not be part of the 2017
MotoGP grid, having decided to return to the
WorldSBK Championship on a factory-backed
Milwaukee Aprilia, run by successful British team
manager Shaun Muir.
Laverty had previously stated he would only be
interested in staying in MotoGP on the condition
he had the same machinery as his teammate, and
with Alvaro Bautista joining the Pull & Bear Aspar
Ducati squad for 2017 and being guaranteed the
only Ducati Desmosedici GP16 allocated to the
team, Laverty stuck to his guns and walked out.
"I'm excited to return to WorldSBK with Aprilia.
I've had a lot of success there. During my two
years in MotoGP I've learned a lot, and there have
been difficult moments of course but I've pro-
gressed a lot as a rider and I'm impatient to start a
new chapter in my career.
"There are a lot of good
riders at the moment and
there'll be even more next
year with Stefan Bradl arriv-
ing from MotoGP, and me.
It will be really competitive. Of course, Jonathan
Rea is the reigning world champion and on
course to defend his crown, and it will be difficult
to beat him. But a lot of riders are motivated to
defeat him. I'm coming back with one goal: to be
world champion." CN
ALEX LOWES IN FOR BRADLEY SMITH
C
urrent Yamaha WorldSBK rider Alex Lowes
will sub for Yamaha Tech3 rider Bradley Smith
at the upcoming British and San Marino MotoGP
events after Smith injured his leg in a heavy crash
at the final round of the Endurance World Champi-
onship in Germany over the August 27-28 week-
end.
Riding for the Yamaha Austria Racing Team as a
super-sub to help the team clinch the title, Smith
crashed at high speed and initial fears were that
he'd broken his left femur. However, it was later
diagnosed he'd suffered deep lacerations and
knee damage.
Lowes, who tested the Tech3 Yamaha at the
post Brno test one week ago, will thus make his
MotoGP debut at his home event. Choosing him
as a replacement for Smith makes even more
sense when you consider Lowes has the same
sponsorship at the Tech3 team in Monster, and
he's in Yamaha's good books following his role in
the factory's recent Suzuka 8 Hour win. CN
Eugene Laverty has
turned his back on
MotoGP with one clear
objective: to become
WorldSBK Champion.
Alex Lowes
will get his
MotoGP
debut at this
weekend's
British
MotoGP.
