Joan Mir: What Alberto Puig and Davide Brivio have in common

Davide Brivio, who gave Joan Mir his MotoGP break with Suzuki in 2019 and oversaw the Spaniard’s title victory the following season, returns to MotoGP this year as team principal of Trackhouse Aprilia.

Brivio, who also won MotoGP titles as team manager for Valentino Rossi at Yamaha before helping set up the GSX-RR project, left Suzuki for a new challenge in F1 following Mir’s world championship triumph.

Mir meanwhile switched to Repsol Honda last season after Suzuki pulled the plug on its MotoGP team, putting him under the guidance of another multi-title winning team manager in the form of ex-racer Alberto Puig.

Asked what the pair have in common, Mir explained: “One thing is that they always speak with the rider, they always try to be very close to the rider, probably Alberto even more in that [respect].

“Brivio showed in the past that the leadership he had in Suzuki was very good. He built a team from zero. And this is something very difficult.

“They [Puig and Brivio] have some differences but regarding how they are with me, or how they approach the relationship with the rider, they are very similar.”

Mir is switching to Marc Marquez’s former crew, headed by Santi Hernandez, for his second Honda season. Brivio will depend on Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez during his debut year in charge at Trackhouse.

Prior to Mir, Brivio’s human skills and eye for talent helped Suzuki clinch the services of fellow star rookies - and future MotoGP race winners - Maverick Vinales and Alex Rins.

Aleix Espargaro, who has gone on to win three races for Aprilia, was another Brivio signing at Suzuki, although tempting Andrea Iannone from Ducati proved a disappointment.

But with most of the MotoGP grid out of contract for 2025, might Brivio be able to pull off a big signing for the ambitious Trackhouse team - perhaps by reuniting with one of his former riders?