Eugene Laverty intends to put the disappointment of two non-finishes at Aragon in Spain behind him as he seeks to put his World Superbike title challenge back on track at Assen.

The factory Aprilia rider had been joint top of the series along with team-mate Sylvain Guintoli prior to the second round at Aragon, but mechanical trouble in race one followed by a crash in the second outing saw the Northern Ireland leave the Spanish venue empty-handed.

Laverty, though, isn’t dwelling on his cruel luck and is thinking only of the next round at the legendary Dutch circuit.

The 26-year-old, who claimed his first rostrum finish on the Aprilia at Assen in 2012, said: “I’ve put Aragon behind me and I’m thinking only about the remainder of the season. There’s no point in dwelling on it.

“Assen was the venue of my first podium finish on the Aprilia last year and so I have fond memories of riding the RSV4 around there,” said Laverty.

“I really enjoy the flowing nature of the circuit and it usually makes for close racing.

“We know that the BMWs and Kawasaki of Tom Sykes will be strong but the Honda duo could be up there too.”

Pata Honda rider Jonathan Rea, meanwhile, must have his best opportunity of the season so far to challenge for rostrum honours at Assen, where Rea has won on each of his previous three visits to his Ten Kate team’s home circuit.

Rea and team-mate Leon Haslam have been struggling with a new electronics package on their CBR1000RR Fireblades but the Assen circuit traditionally plays to the strengths of the Honda.

“I’m looking forward to getting back on track there after our busy testing build-up to the last round in Spain,” said Rea, whose best result of the season so far is fourth in race one at Aragon.

“The boys have done a lot of work since Aragon and looked at a lot of data, so we’ve hopefully got a few new settings to try this weekend, especially around the throttle connection,” said Rea.

“We’ll start with free practice on Friday to try and turn it into a competitive package for two 22-lap races on Sunday.

“I hope the weather is a bit more consistent than it was last season but it would certainly be nice to get another good result at Assen.”



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