Having re-joined the Shaun Muir Racing family, Irish Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was right in the mix of things throughout the two-day testing programme at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. Laverty, who is with his third different manufacturer in as many seasons, will be looking to capitalise on his experience across different motorcycle and use his well-known versatility to push BMW forward towards the front.

Laverty didn’t feature too much towards the front of the timesheets as wet weather curtailed progress in that regard, however working his way through different settings and gaining his first wet weather experience of the BMW S 1000 RR proved valuable. With a combined total of 65 laps being set on the final day between Laverty and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), there’s plenty of data to decipher ahead of Portimao, where the weather is expected to be a bit kinder.

“We are in a much better position than where we were from the last test, however the lap times may not reflect that as I’ve taken a role of test rider over the last two days. We have made good progress with the electronics and other small parameters on the bike so heading into Portimao with some good weather hopefully we can kick on a little and start improving our lap times.”

Team principal Shaun Muir was also happy with the progress that Laverty was able to make: “We’ve had a big list of parts to run through this test, the wet conditions did change the sequence of what we were going to be testing but this allowed us to give extra emphasis on our electronic updates. Both Tom and Eugene worked through our list which was definitely a benefit, unfortunately we didn’t get to work on the chassis and swing-arm during this test but heading over to Portimao in a couple of days this will allow us to gain a clear direction to work in.” 

Continuing, Muir stated: “In summary, of the two-day test and the constant changing conditions, we have not been looking at the lap times, in any respect that’s not what we are here to do, and our focus has solely been on development. Overall, I feel it’s been a valuable and constructive test.”

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