OFFICIAL PROGRAMME
Shaun Muir
BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Shaun Muir
Shaun Muir is now the Team Manager of the official BMW Motorrad Motorsport squad but like some others in his position he is a man wearing many hats . He is the owner of companies involved in construction , Human Resources and more . Through his own SMR race set-up , based in Guisborough , in the North east of England , he is owner and controller of the latest iteration of the factory BMW race-based logistical set-up , providing technical and admin staff , plus race workshops and transport . Through his own SMR race set-up , based in Guisborough , in the North east of England , he is owner and controller of the latest iteration of the factory BMW race-based logistical set-up , providing technical and admin staff , plus race workshops and transport . A former BSB racer , who retired through injury is the mid-1990s , Muir has some good two-wheeled connection all round . His cousin is Jared Smith – one for all the motocross fans out there . After starting his own racing team , Muir built and built his racing presence in the UK until , SMR were competing and winning British championships , taking two BSB riders ’ titles , one with Tommy Hill and one with Josh Brookes . He almost left BSB at the end of 2011 – but he did eventually leave . Most other BSB teams do not seem to want to do anymore . Maybe SMR is not most teams ? “ We had won two championships ,” Shaun explained . “ I just thought , right , we need another challenge . We need to go up to that next level .” When the pieces fitted together correctly Muir was off to WorldSBK as a customer team owner with BMW , and he has had ups and downs all the way to his journey back to BMW two years ago , after taking on Aprilia machinery for a while . So purely as a team manager , how is Muir different from his peer group ? “ I ’ m certainly different to Leon Camier . I ’ m certainly different to Serafino Foti . They ’ re almost employed as team managers . I ’ m a partner . That ’ s how I look at it . A bit like Paul Denning is a partner , I would expect , with Yamaha .” Shaun ’ s relationship with BMW , which even survived a break up for a while after Muir took over Aprilia ’ s WorldSBK efforts between 2017-18 , is different from some others in the WorldSBK paddock too . “ It ’ s a completely different relationship ,” said Muir . “ I first came in as a customer support thing with Mark Bongers as my engineer working with Josh Brookes . Then we just drifted apart because the factory Aprilia thing came along . But I was like a ‘ customer factory ,’ because I was still paying for everything to Aprilia , but we just got to have factory equipment at a price . Then it came full circle ( back to BMW ). Mark and I were talking . Berti Hauser retired . I was to come back in again at a high level , but I wanted to have more control over it . When I was a factory team with Aprilia I didn ’ t have any control over developments . It wasn ’ t the pace that I wanted to go with it . So this is completely different .” Muir is another who did not exactly sit down one day and say ; ‘ OK , I am going to be a factory WorldSBK team manager one day !’ “ Not this , really , if I ’ m perfectly honest with you , I ’ ve got other businesses that I do . I don ’ t do it for the money . That is a fact . You just get that will to win , that will to succeed . It ’ s building something and seeing it be successful . I ’ m not the ingredient . I do feel like I ’ m a bit of a conductor putting the right people in the right positions , trying to get the right guys in here . You have some good ones that slip through your fingers and all of a sudden you think , ‘ I ’ ve got to bring a different dynamic to this pit box here .’” Conductor , businessman , owner , sponsor-finder , BMW partner … and also on track Team Manger . Shaun Muir is a busy boy .
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