Shaun Muir Racing (SMR), which won the 2015 MCE British Superbike Championship with Josh Brookes riding a Milwaukee-sponsored Yamaha YZF-R1, has announced it will enter the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship with Brookes and Karel Abraham riding factory-supported BMW S1000RR Superbikes.
The announcement, according to the official World Superbike website, also states that SMR has renewed its sponsorship deal with Milwaukee Power Tools for three more years and the team will be known as Milwaukee BMW.
SMR is owned by Shaun Muir, a businessman and former British Superbike racer. SMR has been racing in the British National Championship series since 1999 and has been one of the top British Superbike teams since 2010.
In 2011, SMR won the British Superbike Championship with Tommy Hill riding a Swan Yamaha. The team was with Yamaha from 2011 through 2015 and was being considered to run Yamaha Motor Europe’s new World Superbike team in 2016, but that deal was given to Paul Denning’s Crescent Racing.
Australian Brookes, age 32, is a former Australian Superbike Champion, has won two Supersport World Championship races, has competed in several World Superbike events, has claimed many British Superbike race victories (including 13 wins in 2015) and won the 2015 British Superbike Championship.
Czech rider Abraham, age 25, made his 125cc World Championship debut in 2005 at the age of 15. He spent two seasons in the 125cc World Championship, three seasons in the 250cc World Championship and one season in Moto2, 2010, which was highlighted by a race victory at Valencia. Abraham finished 10th in the 2010 Moto2 World Championship. Since 2011, Abraham has raced in MotoGP, where he has ridden customer-spec Ducatis, Aprilias and Hondas for Cardion AB Motoracing, a team owned by his family.