Following a crash that brought a red flag in the final race of his career at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Eugene Laverty has arrived back home in Portugal. The Irishman, who was in his final race of his racing career before retiring, crashed at Turn 1 on Lap 18 of 22 of Race 2, leaving Xavi Fores (BARNI Spark Racing Team) nowhere to go but into his path, with both riders going down.

Laverty had originally been discharged from hospital after four days, but there were some internal complications forcing Eugene to be admitted back into hospital 24 hours later. He suffered symptoms of minor internal bleeding but fortunately, he was in the best hands in the Alfred hospital in Melbourne.

Talking about finally being able to fly home, Laverty said: “I felt more ready to leave hospital the second time around as it took some time for everything to settle down after such a trauma. I’ve been very fortunate to have my wife Pippa by my side throughout and we’re both very happy to return home following an extended period in Australia. It wasn’t the way I wanted to finish my racing career in WorldSBK, but I was giving it my everything and that’s how it should be.”

The Irishman also commented about the immediate red-flagging of the race and thanked the circuit’s medical staff: “I want to thank WorldSBK race direction for red flagging the race immediately and all the medical staff at Phillip Island for taking such good care of me in the immediate aftermath of the crash. There is a very good system in place to ensure that fallen riders are looked after and I owe a lot to them.”

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