The Milwaukee BMW team have managed two successful days of testing as they prepare for their debut in the 2016 World Superbike Championship.

After a busy winter period spent preparing to contest the 2016 WorldSBK season, the team got their first taste of running a World Superbike at the Circuito de Jerez on 26th-27th January. Riding their BMW S1000RRs on track for the first time, riders Josh Brookes and Karel Abraham both responded positively to the bike after two days of running.
Riding a World Superbike for the first time since 2007. 

Brookes added:

“It’s been a positive two days. I’ve adapted to the bike quickly, and I can feel that it has a lot of potential. In that rider-bike relationship you get an instinct of how to work with the bike, and it soon becomes a natural progression of knowing what it will do and what needs changing.

I try not to predict where a new bike will be on pace, so we’ve been sensible in our approach to the first test. We focussed on dialling the bike in and gathering data, and I’d say at this stage we are pretty much exactly where we want to be in terms of consistency and pace.

We’ve learnt lots about the bike in a short time, and to be in the top ten at the end of the test is a good result. At Aragón there will be a new strategy to our running when we’ve analysed our data from Jerez, and we can expect to make a significant gain in performance.”



Making his switch from MotoGP to the World Superbike grid, Abraham added:

“It’s been a great experience for me at Jerez. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the bike and the team, and I think we’ve achieved a lot. Two days ago I hadn’t even sat on the bike, but I already have a good feeling for what it can do. I’ve had to adapt my style a little bit, but the bike gives good feedback and I haven’t had any problems so far.

Before we got to Jerez we planned to just get laps in and learn how the bike works before going attacking the lap time. We achieved that, but now we need to work with the new data and figure out to how get the best from it because we really believe it can be quick.

I’m really looking forward to riding the bike again at Aragón next week. We’ll focus on consistent running again, and we’ll look at the set-up in more detail so that we know where we stand before Phillip Island.”

Running in carbon black bodywork, the bikes’ first shakedown has given the team valuable data to work with before their next test at Aragón.




Team co-ordinator Mick Shanley added:

“The test has been beneficial on all sides; it’s given us a good sense of where we are with the bike, and how we work as a team. The bike definitely has potential, as Josh and Karel have proved with some strong lap times. What we have to do now is go away, look at our data, and make sense of what we have learnt.

The team is a strong unit, and coming from a fantastic victory last year has given us all confidence going into the World Superbike Championship. We still have a lot to learn about the bike, and it would have been easy to get carried away at Jerez and aim to go fastest straight away. Instead, we wanted to get two solid days’ work done, to understand how the bike works, and also to let the team gel.

Now we go to Aragón, which we will approach in a similar way to Jerez; to chip away at the bike’s potential, hone in on its strengths, and not to go for an immediate fast lap time. Consistency is key at this stage.”

With just over a month until the 2016 season starts at Phillip Island in Australia, the team feels positive about making a strong racing debut.

Team Principal Shaun Muir added:

“It’s been a solid test all round. The team, riders and BMW technicians have all worked well as a unit, gaining information and an understanding of how to get the best from the package.

I honestly don’t think lap times were really important or representative of where we are after two days, although both the guys posted a respectable time to finish the test.

We lost valuable track time both mornings waiting for the weather to clear but, importantly, we will be back on track in a few days’ time with riders and a team that now have a clear direction of how to get the best from the BMW S1000RR. Overall we are very happy leaving Jerez.”    

The team will next test at the Motorland Aragón Circuit on the 3rd-4th February, before heading to Phillip Island in Australia for the final pre-season test on 22nd-23rd February.

The official Milwaukee BMW unveiling and launch will take place on Thursday 25th February at the circuit, before the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship begins on Friday 26th.