In the latest of his exclusive columns for Crash.net, TAS Suzuki's Michael Laverty talks about what he has been up to since the end of the season….


Hi guys,

As you all probably know by now I am no longer with Stobart Honda in Superbike, instead I've done a deal with Philip Neil to go back to Supersport with the TAS Suzuki team for next year. I'm looking forward to it, I think the Suzuki should be competitive, I mean Tom Sykes finished second in the championship on it. I'm aiming to win the British Championship next year.

It is a very competitive class and it is never going to be easy. I know my younger brother Eugene, Crutchlow, Camier, Riba and Sykes have all moved on to greener pastures for next season, but I've heard Stuart Easton is coming in and Ian Hutchinson has signed for Honda so there are still going to be quite a few rivals. There is always going to be someone cropping up in there that will give you a hard time but I think I'll be starting as one of the favourites. I'm looking forward to it. I've had a few years in Supersport before. I came close to winning the championship the year that Karl Harris won it. I definitely think I can put in a good championship season and that is what matters, to win the championship for Suzuki and then move onto Superbike the year after.

Superbike is still my goal but next year I'd like to try and fit in a couple of World Supersport races and if that goes good maybe we will look at going World Supersport the year after. I feel I have a lot of unfinished business in Superbike, things didn't go according to plan this year, and they actually went better during my rookie season in Superbike. I know I can ride a Superbike well it is just that I need to get it a bit more suited to me. It is definitely something I'd like to go back to in 2008 but at the minute my main focus is getting adapted back into riding a Supersport bike and getting used to the Pirelli tyres. There is going to be a bit of relearning to do but I'm up for it.

The boys are working to continually improve the bike through the winter so it is looking like it is going to be one of the most competitive packages out there so I have to get myself into good shape, lean down a wee bit more. For the Superbike I had to try and get built up and now I'm trying to get smaller again for the 600. I'll be putting one hundred percent into it and hopefully I can come out on top next year.

We tested at Valencia and it went well, we had two days of sunshine and blue skies. I must admit it took a few sessions to get back into the 600 style; I had to find all my breaking points again and remember to carry more corner speed. We tested lots of parts and now know how to go forward with the bike so it was a very productive test. The Pirelli tyres and the bike have come on a lot since I last used them, it really is impressive. I tried about ten different types of tyre and know which ones I got on with. We are hoping to get some testing in at home in Northern Ireland, if the weather holds, and then we will head away to either South Africa or Spain.
I've been fairly busy since the end of the season. I did the Sunflower race in Ireland, it went pretty good. I then had a weekend in Prague for a stag party, and the following weekend was my mates wedding so I was back to Ireland for that. I'll be training over Christmas and into the New Year. I'll also be sorting out my helmet and leathers deals for next year and just doing al the bits you need to do in the winter. I'll be keeping myself occupied and making use of the new Suzuki moto crosser and doing a bit of off road which is good for fitness.

It is excellent that my younger brother Eugene is stepping into 250 GPs that has been his goal for a long time. He had a few Superbike options but when the step into GPs came along he jumped at it. It is a good team and everyone is getting behind him and if the bike is competitive he could surprise a few people next year. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do. John is staying with Buildbase in Superstock, he showed he was fast this year and he was on the front row a lot. He had a lot of bad luck with crashes, so hopefully he can put that behind him and go out and win the Superstock Championship which would be good for him. Ideally we could have two British champions and Eugene setting the world alight out in the GP scene! It would be nice. It is good for us all to be settled this time of year and it lets our parents be a bit more settled too. It is nice to be all done and dusted.

Talk to you soon.

Michael