Ahead of the ninth round of the season at the German circuit of Lausitzring, Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) and Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) put in some strong steps with their Italian machines over a two day summer test, and have both left feeling happy with data they collected.

With the main focus for Laverty being learning the 4.265km circuit, he was also able to make some big steps with his RSV4 RF machine which he feels will allow him to make some big steps in the second half of the season. Working on corner entry, the Irish rider can now continue to train on his summer break and look forward to round nine of the season knowing he has a strong base setting in both the wet and the dry around Lausitzring.

Laverty gave a positive analysis of his two day test: “The main thing for me on Tuesday was to learn the track ahead of the race weekend. Its bumpy like everyone says, but it's fun to ride with such a mix of low and high speed sections and the bike seems to work well. Today we did a really good job in just a few hours, and made two big steps forward. We set a lap under the lap record pace which shows we're making big strides in chasing down the front guys. For this track we've been working on corner entry and allowing me to attack the front more. As we improve that area the rest improves with it, and we've found that yet again here. I feel positive because its the same direction we've been going in recently; Laguna Seca was a good step, and here we've continued that. I'm confident that we're heading in the right direction, and when we come back here next month we'll be aiming for the podium. It won't be easy but it's in our sights now."

Italian team-mate Lorenzo Savadori made the most of being able to test in both the dry and wet conditions in Germany, but is continuing to work through problems with the front end of his Aprilia. The 24 year old does however feel confident they are in a strong position to fight up in the top six for the second half of the season, which is the main target for the team.

“We were able to try the bike in dry and wet conditions,” begins Savadori. “This was very useful for us. We didn't have as much as we wanted, but we used it well and got some really good data. It's a tricky track to ride, but it's good experience for the race. My target here was to improve my feeling on the bike and to make the front feel stronger for me, which was a problem this year. At Laguna we made some progress after Free Practice, and we made more improvements with it here. For the race next month I think we will be in a good position to fight. SMR and Aprilia Racing have been working really hard to improve the bike, and for sure we are a little closer to the front after this test".

Keep up with how the Milwaukee Aprilia squad tackle the second half of the season and Round Nine of the season at Lausitzring all on the WorldSBK VideoPass, with WorldSBK action resuming 18^th – 20^th August.