EXCLUSIVE: Eugene Laverty reveals “strange” aspect of post-racing transition

The transition from racing to life afterwards can be complicated to navigate, and, for Eugene Laverty, the way he moved from racing to post-racing career was quite particular.

Whereas many riders take some time away from racing before returning to it, or others, like Chaz Davies who retired at the Go Eleven team before becoming a rider analyst at Aruba.it Racing Ducati, Laverty’s transition saw him go from being a rider to being a rider coach within the same Bonovo BMW, now MGM Bonovo Ducati, team between the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

“Honestly, it was [strange], and that’s one thing I hadn’t considered,” Eugene Laverty in an interview with Crash.net at the UK WorldSBK.

“I think if you change role [and] change team, it might have been more seamless, but the fact that I just moved out of the rider’s seat and watching then Garrett Gerloff stepping into that rider’s seat – the first half of the [first] season was really strange.

“But because Garrett is such a nice guy, I actually enjoyed working with him and helping him.

“So, where I enjoyed searching for performance in my own lap time, I put that energy into working, in the first year, with Garrett Gerloff and Loris Baz to find that one- or two-tenths-of-a-second.

“If the riders are good people, that’s a bonus, it makes it more enjoyable.”

Laverty moved from the Bonovo team to the Pata Yamaha squad for this season. This was brought about by Niccolo Canepa and his promotion to Road Racing Sporting Manager within Yamaha Motor Europe for 2025, the Northern Irishman explained.

“Whenever I spoke with Niccolo Canepa last year, I would see Niccolo – we were doing a similar job out around the track – and I could sense that in Yamaha the rider coach was more deeply involved,” Laverty said.

“Right away, from the first test, I knew I’d made the right move.

“I enjoy working with a group of engineers and I’ve slotted in pretty well.

“Everybody is still motivated and I think, especially with seeing Loka [Andrea Locatelli] getting that first win at Assen – [it] just gave everyone a boost.”

Having raced for Yamaha in 2011, and having taken his first two WorldSBK race wins at Monza that year, Laverty already recognised the importance placed by Yamaha on the input of ex-riders.

“That was a big motivation for coming here,” he said.

“I rode for Yamaha in 2011 and I could see the same, the generation before us, with Wilco Zeelenberg, Maio Meregalli.

“Of course, you can’t just choose any random ex-rider. Niccolo is great in his role now as well, so Yamaha are smart that they can pick a rider that’s got experience but also the potential to grow the way Niccolo has.

“I enjoy that environment. Sounds strange to say, but the end goal here [at Yamaha] is performance and that isn’t always the case in this paddock, bizarrely.

“Everyone here is just focused on one goal and getting that rider to the top step of the podium.

“For some reason, in racing, some other distractions can get in the way, but I feel at Yamaha everyone is heading towards the same goal.”

Miss racing? “I had my good years”

Two-and-a-half years on from his retirement, and Laverty is still content with his decision to hang it up at the end of 2022.

“The racing side, I would say no,” he said when asked if he misses racing.

“I think I was past that, I had my good years.

“I do miss riding good bikes with great engineers improving the bike. That’s what we enjoy, riding at 100 per cent.

“But, I’m now 39 years of age, so I don’t have that young man’s need to beat everybody around me. I still enjoy riding a bike at a limit, that’s the part that I miss.”

Laverty still does his share of riding, from off-road to on-track at Portimao, a circuit he won at twice in World Superbike.

“I ride a lot of off-road – motocross, enduro,” he said.

“I ride a little bit on-track, just to check that I still have the speed. I still do at Portimao sometimes.

“Even now, my lap times at Portimao sometimes are as fast, or even faster, than what I was doing whenever I was racing, so that means the speed is still there.

“I like to check that it still is because I’m sure, in time, it will disappear.”