Team owner Shaun Muir aims for jackpot with Eugene Laverty

By their own admittance, 2016 has been a tough learning year for Shaun Muir Racing (SMR) as they make their debut in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as the Milwaukee BMW team. Next year, the English outfit will switch to Aprilia machinery – and team own Shaun Muir expects podium finishes right from the beginning. He also expects Eugene Laverty to challenge for the world title.

With the Milwaukee-Aprilia partnership having been announced on Wednesday, Muir takes time out to share his enthusiasm and expectation with WorldSBK.com.

Shaun, congratulations on the new deal. How did this all come about?

It was quite simple for us. We were approached around Imola time. We had already been in a high level of discussion with Aprilia the previous year, but we elected to go with BMW. As this season has progressed, the interest from Aprilia Racing has increased to the point at which they formally said they would like to come back to World Superbike in a higher capacity and that the level of support they can offer will depend on having the right team and right riders.

From Imola leading up to Misano, we got to a point where we spoke at such a level that, when I told them the quality of the riders that I was looking at signing, I think they quickly put together a package that would give us factory support at a much higher level than there has been since they left the paddock with the official team.

I’m not disappointed about anything with BMW, but the opportunity to represent Aprilia Racing was too good an opportunity to pass us by. An Aprilia deal with factory support, a proven race-winning bike and a race-winning rider, were all the ingredients we needed to make the decision easy for us. I can’t put it any other way.

Will you still have Milwaukee title sponsorship?

Yes, the Milwaukee partnership will continue for the next two years, 2017 and 2018, as title sponsors of the team. We are also looking at bringing on a new sponsor that will be announced over the next weeks.

Aprilia development has been limited in WorldSBK this year. That won’t be the case in 2017…

The key here and the reason we want to get started so early is that we want to be on-track by November. Aprilia are building four new bikes for us and there is a level of engine development that will come with the bike for when we hit the track in November. We will expect to be on the pace already. There is a whole excitement through the team that, hopefully, we will be able to realise another level of potential with this bike – and the results on-track should show that.

How involved will SMR be in developing the Aprilia, compared with the Red Devils team in 2015 or IodaRacing Team in 2016?

We will be more involved. We are now starting to develop the programme. It’s quite clear that the chassis is very well developed anyway, but there still a lot a lot more to do with that. Engine-wise, there is a varying level of engine improvements that are going to be offered to us. SMR’s hands-on from Day 1 is going to be very limited, but what we will find is that the factory will provide all of the bikes, racing parts, the number of technicians and electronic guys – and that will then integrate to our guys. By the end of the first test, we will know what sort of level we are probably at.

Eugene Laverty needs no introduction. There was no question, was there?

For a new team to the championship this year, we have been quite surprised that there are some real quality riders who are not getting the results they were hoping for – and we have one or two of them in our team. One of the key points for us is that, after Eugene left Aprilia, he didn’t have anywhere to go and he ended up with Suzuki. He got some good early results, but not what he would have wanted.

The attitude of Eugene is what has really struck us. He could quite easily have stayed in MotoGP with his current team (Aspar), but the want and desire to come back and win races with a quality, proven package was just too much to turn down. Pitch him alongside Lorenzo Savadori and you’ve got, for me, what is a dream team.

Lorenzo Savadori already knows the bike very well…

He speaks for himself. He’s the hottest young guy in World Superbike right now and there’s a really deep desire from within the Piaggio Group to continue development with Lorenzo. Even if there was no interest from Aprilia in Lorenzo, there still would have been from us personally because I feel that, if you look at him alongside any of the other guys in World Superbike, he is the most improved rider and he’s impressed me more than anyone else.

Most teams in the paddock would want Lorenzo on their bike. For us, to keep that continuity of Lorenzo on the Aprilia and to start testing early to improve the package, I think we can only see more results coming from him. Then put him alongside a rider who is going to be consistently on the front row and it is going to bode very well for better results.

Can the Milwaukee Aprilia bikes fight for podiums from the beginning?

Absolutely. The changes to split throttle bodies will affect some of the bikes; for sure it will affect BMW and Kawasaki, who are going to have to do some work. Ducati and Aprilia don’t need to, so they can continue in the same vein. In our pre-season, we have something in the region of nine to ten days of on-track testing before we go to Phillip Island; so, as it sits at the moment and with the level of support we are getting, I believe we should be in a position to fight for the podium at Round 1.

By signing Laverty and Savadori, your working relationships with Josh Brookes and Karel Abraham will end. How do you feel about that?

I feel sad for Josh because we’ve not been able to get the best out of him with this package. He has proven he’s got the pace to race at the front – he’s shown that on a domestic level and also at Suzuka – but I just don’t think our package this year has suited him. For us it’s a real shame; we’re ending a three-year relationship during which we’ve won a domestic title together, but haven’t got to where we wanted to be in the World Championship. We’ve got to close that chapter, wish him well and go off in our own directions, shaking hands and considering each other as friends.

Karel wanted to come out of MotoGP. World Superbike was a natural step for him. The rumours I’m hearing are that he’ll stay in the paddock and he’ll probably find a bike that suits him better. We thank him for all of his efforts but it just hasn’t worked out for the pair of our riders this year. It’s been a learning year for all three of us, in one respect: for us as a team and certainly for those two as riders, entering for a full season in World Superbike. I’d like to see them both stay in the paddock and hopefully find teams they can progress with.

IodaRacing Team hopes to continue running Aprilia bikes. What level of support will they have and how much can you work together with them?

I’m not sure. I’ve not been privy to any discussions. We want to see them in the championship, for sure – and all the talk is that they will continue – but I’m not sure how that will be. Our direct support from Aprilia will probably keep us (SMR) in the stronger position, but I can’t really comment on whether we can work with Ioda.

What is the Milwaukee Aprilia target for 2017?

We honestly believe with the two riders, the programme and the support we have, that we should be fighting for podiums right from Round 1…and if I can move the question to ‘What are the riders’ expectations?’. Eugene’s is to win the championship.

Shaun Muir was talking with WorldSBK.com