Eugene Laverty will switch from Aprilia to Suzuki for 2014.

Crescent Suzuki has signed 2012 eni FIM Superbike World Championship runner-up Eugene Laverty to lead the team’s assault on next year’s title fight.

The 27-year-old Irishman will join the team with immediate effect and will participate in the team’s final test of the season at Jerez on 25-26 November, 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.

“I’m delighted to join Crescent Suzuki for the 2014 season,” Laverty said. “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. I will give everything I possibly can to bring Suzuki to the top of the podium again!”

Team manager Paul Denning is confident Laverty can turn the team’s fortunes around after a difficult couple of seasons in WSBK.

“It is an exciting prospect for the Crescent Suzuki team to have secured the services of a rider of Eugene’s calibre,” Denning said. “He has shown regularly this season that he has the determination, ability and technique to secure superb results, even when things are against him.

“Eugene 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.”

The Crescent Suzuki 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.