Laverty signs with Crescent Suzuki

The 27-year-old Irishman will join the team immediately and will participate in the team’s final test of the season at Jerez on November 25 and 26, where he will get his first taste of the Yoshimura-powered Suzuki GSX-R.

Laverty won a staggering nine races in 2013 and headed to the final round of the season with a chance of the championship, where -- despite winning both races -- he narrowly missed out on the title. The Irishman brings with him a wealth of experience gained throughout many different championships in his career including British 125cc Championship, MotoGP 250cc division and twice runner-up in the World Supersport class.

Crescent Suzuki says the team is currently pushing forward with an aggressive development plan for the GSX-R1000 Superbike in order to further increase its competitive level in 2014, and looks forward to matching these improvements to the clear racing ability of its new rider.

"I'm delighted to join Crescent Suzuki for the 2014 season," said Laverty. "I will try the GSX-R1000 for the first time at the end of this month to better understand our potential, and I am really excited to see what I can do with the bike.

"Thank you to Paul Denning and his team, and to Suzuki, for pushing so hard for this deal and for believing in me," he added.

Commenting on the signing, team manager Paul Denning said: "It is an exciting prospect for the Crescent Suzuki team to have secured the services of a rider of Eugene’s calibre. [He] brings a different level of expectation to the team and it is now up to us to give him the tool for the job.

"We have made big steps this season with the GSX-R, and with further developments planned for 2014 I am convinced that Eugene will be able to get the maximum potential from the Suzuki."