Laverty comes from Toomebridge in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. His family produced three professional racers: brother Eugene became a Superbike World Champion and long-serving WorldSBK competitor, and brother John also raced professionally. Michael's achievements on track earned him recognition from the Irish motorcycling press, including the award of Irish Motorcyclist of the Year from Irish Racer magazine in 2005.
Laverty raced in British Supersport from 2001 to 2004, finishing in the top five of the championship in all but his debut season. He also competed in selected World Supersport rounds during those years.
In 2005 and 2006 he joined the Stobart Honda team in the British Superbike Championship. In 2005 he finished tenth overall, scoring podiums at Knockhill and Snetterton. In 2006 he was a teammate to Michael Rutter, and finished seventh overall, ahead of the more experienced Rutter.
For 2007, Laverty returned to British Supersport with the Relentless Racing by TAS Suzuki team. He beat teammate Ian Lowry to the title, claiming the 2007 British Supersport Championship. He then moved back to BSB with the team in 2008, finishing ninth overall after two fourth-place finishes early in the year.
In 2009, Laverty competed in selected rounds of the AMA Superbike Championship in the United States with Celtic Racing. He finished in the top ten at every round he entered, with a second-place finish behind Mat Mladin at Road America being his best result. He also contested selected World Supersport rounds and joined the CRS team for the latter part of the season.
In January 2010, Laverty re-signed with the Relentless Suzuki by TAS team for the British Superbike Championship. In May 2010 he took his and the team's first Superbike victory in Race 2 of the third round at Oulton Park.
Laverty competed in MotoGP in the 2013 and 2014 seasons riding a CRT machine for Paul Bird's PBM team, sharing the garage with Broc Parkes in 2014. The seasons represented the highest level of Laverty's Grand Prix career, though the CRT machinery was not competitive with the factory prototypes.
Laverty competed in FIM Endurance World Championship events with the WEPOL Endurance Racing team, run by the German Penz13.com squad. In the 2018-2019 season the team finished fourth at Le Mans in April 2019 and at the Slovakiaring in May 2019 before abandoning their home race at Oschersleben with a technical failure, ultimately placing fifth overall in the season standings.
After stepping back from full-time competition following the 2018 British Superbike season — where he had ridden a Tyco BMW — Laverty became a television commentator for BT Sport, providing motorcycle racing analysis and commentary. In September 2021 he announced live on BT Sport that he would establish a new Moto3 race team for 2022, built from the former Petronas Moto3 team previously run by Johan Stigefelt. The team, named Vision Track Honda after its title sponsor, fielded British riders Scott Ogden and Josh Whatley, with Laverty acting as team principal and Taylor Mackenzie as team manager.
His team, operating under the MLav Racing banner, competed in Moto3 from 2022, expanded into the British Talent Cup and the FIM JuniorGP World Championship, and made its British Superbike debut in 2025 with Irish rider Richard Kerr. Laverty also established a young-riders' academy based on race-styled minibikes, with Moto3 machines available for occasional wildcard entries.
Michael Laverty's career spans an unusually wide range of roles in motorcycle sport: championship-winning rider, MotoGP competitor, endurance racer, television analyst, and team principal. His 2007 British Supersport title and his MotoGP campaigns represent the competitive high points of his riding career, while his post-riding work in broadcasting and team management has kept him central to the sport's British scene.