The MotoGP community has been shocked. Davide Brivio, team manager for Suzuki’s MotoGP team since 2015, will not be returning for the 2021 season, and it appears he will be transferring over to Formula 1 instead. After six seasons with the team, which included 5 wins, 26 podiums and a world title in 2020, his leadership role comes to an end.
Why is this a big deal? To the untrained eye, movements in management positions within the MotoGP grid can seem far less important than the rider market itself, but to ignore shifts like this is to miss out on the bigger picture of motorcycle racing. A team is a unit, sometimes bordering on a family, and while the riders do represent the biggest basis for success, the strength of the team as a whole is also a major factor. When big shake ups like this one occur, it can change the outlook of a manufacturer’s results for better or for worse.
In this case, one has to imagine it will be for worse. Brivio was instrumental in the revival of the Suzuki team, taking them from a position where they didn’t have a single bike on the grid to a world championship winning bike in just six seasons (eight if you count 2013-2014, in which he was instrumental in the developmental program). He also has a knack for spotting young talent and bringing them up to the team; he snapped up Maverick Vinales in 2015, Alex Rins in 2017, and Joan Mir in 2019, all of whom were able to take wins and podiums with the Suzuki machine. He has overseen every major moment for the manufacturer since it’s return to the premier class, and his absence leaves a major hole in Suzuki’s future plans for success.
They will survive, of course. Many other members of the current technical project have been overseeing the bike’s development for years, and the basic package they have at the end of 2020 is clearly the best bike on the grid. They also have two championship contenders signed for 2021-2022, with plenty of wins and podiums between them, and come off the back of winning both the rider’s championship and the constructor’s championship in 2020. Suzuki will remain strong, at least for a while, but their future will be reliant on if they can find a replacement who can replicate the success that Brivio has brought them.
For now, I can only wish Davide the best of luck in his endeavours in F1. He has been an incredible force in the MotoGP paddock for many years, and his absence will be sorely missed. Who his replacement will be is still a major unknown, but it must be said that whoever it is will be stepping into some of the biggest shoes imaginable. We can only hope they have what it takes to continue the legacy of Brivio’s incredible work with the boys in blue.
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