Honda's major coup: negotiations underway for a top executive

Bombshell news in the MotoGP paddock at Le Mans: team principal Davide Brivio will leave Trackhouse Aprilia at the end of this season. The manager from Brianza, with a past in Formula 1, is set to take on an executive role with the factory Honda team starting in 2027.

HRC had long been on the lookout for a major figure to oversee the evolution of the RC213V and the garage environment. Some time ago, the Japanese manufacturer tried to lure Ducati Corse’s general manager, Gigi Dall'Igna, but the engineer from Veneto preferred to stay in Borgo Panigale, riding the wave of the Desmosedici GP’s success. Dall’Igna certainly remains a favorite of Honda’s top brass, but the timing may not yet be right to land the big coup.

At all costs, the Japanese giant wants to return to the top of MotoGP and is now considering bringing in Davide Brivio, who came back to MotoGP from Formula 1 two years ago, getting involved with the new American Trackhouse project. From 2027 he will be a key figure for HRC and, according to initial reports, he will not take the place of team manager Alberto Puig.

Previously, more than 20 years ago, he worked at Yamaha, where he played a key role in building the team around Valentino Rossi. Later, Brivio played a central role in the factory Suzuki team’s return in 2015. The highlight was Joan Mir’s stunning MotoGP world title win in 2020. He then moved to the Alpine Formula 1 team. Initially he served as Racing Director, and later held various positions within the organization.

At the end of 2023 he left Alpine to return to his first love: MotoGP. He is currently team principal at Trackhouse Aprilia, but has not confirmed the market rumors suggesting he could serve as a Honda consultant. Also noteworthy is Hikaru Tsukamoto’s departure from Honda’s racing department. In recent years, Tsukamoto had overseen the development of Honda’s motorcycle division. At the last Thai Grand Prix he bid farewell to paddock staff before being transferred to China.

In summary, starting next MotoGP season, the first of the 850cc era, Honda will field two heavy hitters in Fabio Quartararo and young talent David Alonso. Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira, meanwhile, will remain with the LCR team. In recent weeks there was also talk that Honda might expand its arsenal to six bikes on the grid by 2027, by bringing in the Tech3 satellite team. After the latest reports coming from Le Mans, this scenario now seems highly unlikely. As a result, both Luca Marini and Joan Mir will have to abandon the ship of the Land of the Rising Sun and try their luck elsewhere.

If you enjoy our news outlet’s content, you can select it as a preferred source by clicking here