British team Shaun Muir Racing has unveiled the RSV-4RF Aprilia that Eugene Laverty and Lorenzo Savadori will ride in the 2017 World Superbike Championship ahead of the first pre-season test in Jerez.
SMR made their world championship debut last season after dominating the British Superbike Championship with Josh Brookes and the Yamaha YZF-R1. The team switched to BMW, but an uncompetitive package and a lack of factory support from the German marque saw both Brookes and team-mate Karel Abraham struggle.
Aprilia, who withdrew their factory presence at the end of 2015 to focus on their MotoGP project, leased two RSV4s to series owners Dorna Sports for use by a team in 2016. Italian squad IodaRacing took both bikes, Savadori managing a podium finish in Germany.
Aprilia announced their plans to return to WorldSBK as a factory entrant alongside their tie-up with SMR towards the end of last year, with 13-time race winner Laverty confirming his comeback to the series not long after having failed to secure a competitive bike in MotoGP.
“It’s great to finally be here in Jerez for our first test of 2017,” said team boss Muir.
“It’s exciting to unveil the bikes; a lot of work has gone into the new generation of Aprilia RSVF RF over the winter. He upgrades and support we’ve received are testament to the commitment by Aprilia Racing to the whole project.”
SMR, along with the majority of the WorldSBK field, will spend the next two days in Jerez getting to grips with their machines before heading out to Australia for the final pre-season test ahead of the first round of the championship next month.
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