Milwaukee BMW boss Shaun Muir has explained his decision to switch to the World Superbike Championship and to move away from Yamaha - the manufacturer with which he won two BSB title in five years.
The move to BMW came as a shock to some but Muir said the deal, which is for a year with an option for a second, made the most sense head of offers from Suzuki and Aprilia. He also revealed he has signed a three-year extension to his partnership with Milwaukee Power Tools.
“We made a decision early in the year we wanted to go for the World option. Yamaha had been making lots of promises, well, certainly, indications, we would be in prime position to take the deal to WSBK. We made a technical and commercial proposal which we were asked to do by the end of May, with a view to a decision by the end of June,” said Muir speaking to Bikesport News from his home.
“The end of May, June and July came and literally we had zero response from Yamaha, which infuriated our sponsors really, because all the time this was happening there was rumour control happening that we were not going to be selected and it was going to be Crescent. So at that point we had to decide if we would stay in BSB, or go home, or try and go WSBK another route.
“The BMW deal was quite simple. We heard noises there was strong technical proposal on the table and we sat down, had friendly discussions, spoke to them in detail and I immediately felt that it was for us. The support and personnel being provided by them was of the highest level, akin to Factory direct support. When I met them in Munich I thought this was the deal for us.
“It gave me everything I didn’t have at Yamaha, it gives me options, opportunities to manage the operation myself and I think with the kind of team we are now it would work well and I am really impressed with how they’ve put their arm around us and said, ‘We are supporting four riders in two teams. Technically it’s identical and we want you to be one of those teams’. And so we are.”
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