Davide Brivio will leave his position as Trackhouse Aprilia team principal to join Honda’s management as part of the Japanese manufacturer’s ongoing restructuring process.
The news of his new consultancy role, first reported on Saturday by Sky Italia and subsequently confirmed by Motorsport, will mark the Italian’s return to a factory squad.
He enjoyed previous factory spells at Yamaha – where he played a key role in building the team led by Valentino Rossi and later joined by Jorge Lorenzo – and Suzuki, with whom he celebrated the 2020 MotoGP world title alongside Joan Mir.
Immediately after securing that crown with the Hamamatsu manufacturer, Brivio joined Alpine’s Formula 1 operation, initially as racing director, before taking on several different roles within the organisation before agreeing to leave at the end of 2023.
While Brivio’s departure from Trackhouse has yet to be officially announced, the Italian, who has served as team principal since Justin Marks’ organisation took over from RNF in 2024, is set to join HRC in 2027 as an internal consultant.
Alberto Puig, who has been Honda’s team manager since 2018, is expected to renew his contract, which expires at the end of the current season.
Brivio helped Joan Mir to the 2020 world title
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
It is also worth noting the departure of Hikaru Tsukamoto from Honda’s racing department. In recent years, Tsukamoto had overseen the development of the company’s motorcycle division. He bid farewell to paddock personnel during the season-opening Thai Grand Prix.
Motorsport understands that Honda has decided to change its strategy regarding the organisation of its MotoGP project. Under this new structure, Japanese executives have taken on a much more prominent role than in recent years.
In fact, the operation that led to the signing of Fabio Quartararo, who is set to become Honda’s lead rider from 2027 onwards, was handled directly by Taichi Honda. The Japanese management group was also responsible for the decision to extend Johann Zarco’s contract by another two years, making him the only one of HRC’s four riders currently tied to the manufacturer until the end of 2027, in a move that raised eyebrows in the paddock.
While official confirmation of most rider deals is still pending ongoing negotiations between MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group, the championship promoter, and the participating manufacturers and teams, Quartararo is known to have a guaranteed place in the factory HRC garage. He is expected to be joined by David Alonso, who has already signed a pre-contract agreement.
That scenario would leave Zarco and Diogo Moreira in their current positions at the satellite LCR team.
As for the possibility of Honda reaching an agreement with Tech3 to expand its presence on the grid to six bikes, the chances appear to have diminished considerably following the latest meetings held between the parties in Le Mans.
At this stage, all indications suggest that the French outfit, led by Guenther Steiner, is more likely to remain linked to KTM.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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