When Davide Brivio confirmed his departure to Formula 1, in January of last year, Shinichi Sahara , Suzuki Project Leader in the MotoGP World Championship, thought that the folder that corresponded to the Italian as team manager could be assumed by him. Few months were needed for the Japanese to realize his mistake, completely overcome by the tasks of a transcendental figure today in any racing team.
Even more so in one like Suzuki , which aside from the obvious –a motorcycle and some competitive riders, and a competent staff–, had as its main point of strength the unity of the human group that comprised it. It was with these ingredients that Joan Mir returned the title of the heavy bike category to the Hamamatsu brand two decades after the last time (2000, Kenny Roberts Júnior ). Little remains of that block consciousness in a team in which the troop is completely disconnected from the leadership (Sahara), which seems to live in another dimension.
“Brivio’s departure is not going to make us lose our way,” the engineer released a few days after confirming the Italian’s change of scenery. A year after that, Sahara’s main job at the moment is to find someone who, other than Brivio, can straighten out a ship that has everything to get back to the top, except for a captain.
In Valencia, during the last Grand Prix of last year, the executive insisted on his intention to hire the new team manager, “before the end of the year”. In the pre-season tests that took place in Sepang a couple of weeks ago (February), the position was still vacant and Sahara, clearing balls.
“I haven’t changed my mind. It’s just taking us longer than I imagined [hiring a team manager]. We are still negotiating with several candidates, but we have not closed it yet, ”he conceded in a chat with Motorsport.com .
As the writer of these lines understands, Sahara was waiting for a response from Brivio, whose continuity in Alpine could not be taken for granted, given the great restructuring that the French team has undergone. Finally, Brivio will continue to be linked to her in some way, and that will make Suzuki opt for someone else. The problem is that the alternatives are scarce. In this sense, the name of Livio Suppo , who was Honda’s team manager until the arrival of Alberto Puig , in 2018, and who had previously been at Ducati, is one of those that has been sounding the most in recent months.
“It is very important that someone is brought on board to play that role. And not only that, but it is important that there is a good relationship with him. Mine with Davide was excellent”, commented Alex Rins a few days ago, from Malaysia, where he still had hopes of meeting Brivio again.
In any case, whoever is chosen, if he arrives from abroad he will do so very late – the championship starts in less than three weeks – and with a changed foot. Understanding how a MotoGP team works is not easy, especially when it comes to re-forming the pineapple that was before, the one that put Suzuki back on top. And, incidentally, take charge of the renewal (or not) of the drivers, whose contracts expire in December and who do not live oblivious to that feeling of abandonment that has turned one of the most supportive garages in the paddock, into a cluster of frustrations.
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