Irishman Eugene Laverty (Honda) has waltzed to a crushing victory in the opening round of the Supersport World Championship at Phillip Island this afternoon.

Laverty’s 21-lap blitz saw him claim a start to finish 4.359 victory over Kawasaki’s Joan Lascorz, with 2007 world champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) claiming the final spot on the podium.

Japan’s Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki) was also heavily involved in the stirring battle for second, but crashed at Turn Four with two laps to go. He remounted to finish the race in 11th, with four riders still behind him.

But Laverty certainly didn’t make any mistakes, and if he wasn’t already the championship favourite before today, his irresistible form in the season-opener has now made sure of it.

David Salom (Triumph) and Fabien Foret (Kawasaki) completed today’s top five, with 15 riders completing the distance.

Round two will be held in Portimao, Portugal, on 26-28 March.

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