Davide Brivio is set to step down from his role as team principal of Trackhouse Racing, the Aprilia satellite squad, and will take on a consultancy position with Honda’s management team as part of the Japanese manufacturer’s restructuring efforts. The move, initially reported by Sky Italia on Saturday and later confirmed by Motorsport, marks Brivio’s return to a factory-backed outfit.
The Italian previously held key factory positions at Yamaha, where he helped build the team around Valentino Rossi and later Jorge Lorenzo, and at Suzuki, with whom he secured the 2020 MotoGP world title alongside Joan Mir. Shortly after that championship triumph, Brivio joined Alpine’s Formula 1 operation as racing director, and later held various roles before departing at the end of 2023.
Although Trackhouse has yet to officially confirm Brivio’s departure, the 57-year-old—who has led the squad since Justin Marks’ organization took over from RNF in 2024—is expected to join HRC in 2027 as an internal consultant. Meanwhile, Alberto Puig, Honda’s team manager since 2018, is likely to renew his contract, which expires at the end of the current season.
It has also been noted that Hikaru Tsukamoto has left Honda’s racing department, where he oversaw the development of the motorcycle division in recent years. He bid farewell to paddock personnel during the season-opening Thai Grand Prix.
According to Motorsport, Honda has decided to shift its strategy regarding the organization of its MotoGP project. Under the new structure, Japanese executives have assumed a far more prominent role than in recent years. For instance, the signing of Fabio Quartararo, who will become Honda’s lead rider from 2027, was handled directly by Taichi Honda. The Japanese management group was also responsible for extending Johann Zarco’s contract by two years, making him the only one of HRC’s four riders tied to the manufacturer until the end of 2027—a decision that raised eyebrows in the paddock.
While most rider deals await official confirmation 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, chances have diminished considerably after the latest meetings in Le Mans. At this stage, all signs suggest the French outfit, led by Guenther Steiner, is more likely to remain linked with KTM.
