Croft British Superbikes: John Laverty ties up Cup title

Shane Byrne might not have been able to put his championship to bed this weekend at Croft, but one Ducati rider who did was John Laverty who took the Daily Star Cup title.

Laverty finished sixteenth overall in both Superbike races, but more importantly scored two seconds behind Gary Mason’s Quay Garage Honda in the Cup series.

The result upped Laverty’s points tally to 391 in the Cup, 127 point clear of closest rival Martin Jessopp and out of reach for the title.

“We did what we needed to,” said an overjoyed Laverty.

“I did want to beat Mason but as soon as he got a few bike ahead he was gone.

“But it’s nice to win the championship and be the first major title winner of the year in this series.”

Laverty has had a hugely impressive season with the Buildbase NW200 Ducati team, and he said he hoped he would be rewarded with a Superbike ride for his efforts next season.

“I want to stay with this team but I don’t know what they are doing yet,” added the newly crowned champion.

“In an ideal world we’d get more backing so we could run two 1098’s in Superbike next season.”

Team Manager Ken Foley has sang the praises of the 25-year old Toomebridge rider all season, and said it’s tempting to give him a ride on the Superbike at one of the two remaining rounds as a reward for his championship win.

Foley said: “To be totally honest it is tempting to put John on one of Michael’s bikes, but realistically I don’t think we can do it.”