Northern Ireland’s Eugene Laverty will ride for the factory BMW Motorrad team in next year’s World Superbike Championship.

The 33-year-old will take over the ride from Marcus Reiterberger and previously rode for Shaun Muir’s SMR outfit 2017 and 2018 on Aprilia machinery.

Laverty, who is currently competing for Team Go Eleven on the new Ducati V4R, will ride the BMW S1000RR for the first time during end of season testing in November.

The Toomebridge man finished as the runner-up in the championship in 2013 and joins former champion Tom Sykes in the team.

Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad, said: “First of all, we have got to thank Markus Reiterberger for his commitment and efforts. Equally, I’m delighted to welcome Eugene Laverty into the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team for 2020, and also to welcome him back to the SMR team.

“Eugene joins the team and brings with him a wealth of quality and experience. We strongly believe that he can be a firm challenger for the podium and have a strong championship.

“As soon as he hits the track at pre-season testing in November, the bike will be on another level and I think that the combination of his experience and his speed will be a welcome addition to the WorldSBK project.”

Laverty was left on the back foot this season after breaking both his wrists in a crash during practice at Imola in Italy.

He missed the next three rounds of the championship and made his comeback at Laguna Seca in July prior to the summer break.

The series resumes again at Portimao in Portugal from September 6-8.