The return to school will have been decidedly eventful for Eugène Laverty who was the victim in Austria of other Ducati riders. Between bickering and the joys of participating for the first time in Q.2, the Irishman's meeting oscillated between success and disillusionment. Alas, it was this one that showed up, 200 meters from the finish!
Eugene Laverty does not yet know what his future will hold. His current team Aspar is ready to announce Alvaro Bautista so much so that here he is in competition with his current teammate Hernandez for the latest handlebars that would be available. Although not sparkling, he had a solid season since, upon arriving at the Red Bull Ring, he was with Hector Barbera et Marc Márquez among the only drivers to have scored at all the stages of the year's calendar.
The Styrian track was cut out for the Ducati. The opportunity to show off. On the first day, he stood out by arguing with the Borgo Panigale official Iannone next to a incident on the track which continued with a lively dialogue in the starting practice area. The next day, he made superb progress by winning Q.1 to find himself in Q.2 for the first time in his career. That he finished eleventh, ahead Dani Pedrosa please.
Everything looked good for the Sunday race. But things began to stack against him from the start: “ I got off to a bad start and lost entry places » regrets the one who is also in contact to find an Aprilia in Superbike. “ Then the bike moved a lot in turn 5 and I thought it was an electrical problem. Something also happened with the tires which the data confirmed. I lost time, and I told myself that all I had to do was fight to save points. This is what I did while fighting against Petrucci for eleventh place ».
The Irishman's journey therefore resembled a station of the cross. But as if that wasn’t enough, the Italian from Pramac gave him the final blow in view of the checkered flag: “ from my point of view he drove much more than aggressively. He had already hit me at turn 3 by diving very inside and I passed him again at turn 4. In the last curve, I was defending my position and he came again very inside to finally make me fall . He ruined my race and my entire weekend 200 meters from the finish, just for a handful of points. I'm even more unhappy because it's not the first time he's driven like this. ».
Obviously, after Iannone, it's complicated to make friends at Ducati. Petrux, however, made amends: “ I would first like to apologize to Eugene for bringing him down. I wasn't trying to overtake him, I was just trying to attack but I suddenly lost the front and had to let go of the brakes. I am really sorry ". An approach accepted by Laverty who proposed as a sanction a deprivation of espresso coffee.
No doubt, but the officials looked into the incident and a completely different penalty was imposed. The FIM stewards decided to award a penalty point to Petrucci as well as a sanction which will cost him three positions on the grid for the next Grand Prix. Which will take place next week in Brno. By the way, Hector Barbera having been knocked out of the race, and with this forced abandonment of Laverty, nothing remains but Marc Márquez as driver having scored at the end of each race this season.
