If you take Davide Brivio and put him in charge of a MotoGP team, well, as they say in the commercials: the result is guaranteed. Yamaha’s golden years with Rossi, Suzuki’s title with Joan Mir in 2020, and now the Trackhouse team’s first one-two finish in the Assen Sprint Race.
Next year, Brivio will leave the Aprilia satellite team to join Honda, where he’ll be in charge of the entire two-wheeled racing division of the Winged Lion brand. In the meantime, though, he’s enjoying the present: two riders, Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura, who—thanks in part to his leadership—are finding the formula to let their talent truly blossom.
“If someone had told me before the race, ‘You’ll get a one-two finish,’ I would have replied, ‘Well, that’ll be tough’— Davide said with a touch of irony — “ But then, watching the race, I’d say it was well deserved. It’s great because it just happened that way, naturally. It happened right there on the track, without beating around the bush. Today we’ll savour this satisfaction and celebrate. Tomorrow is another day.”
Raul was a rider who needed to find his form again when you signed him. Ogura, on the other hand, was the gamble, the rookie. You’ve won plenty of gambles like that. What do you think of both of them now, and of the journey you’ve taken with them?
“Raul deserves all the credit. He needs to be able to perform like this, because this is his potential. When he doesn’t, that’s when things go wrong. Because if he can do these things—if he won a Sprint at Mugello, if he won here—it means this is his level. He’s also had two or three tough weekends, sure, but this is his potential. What can I say about Ogura? He’s surprising me with how he’s constantly improving, with how he’s learning. In my opinion, he’s a very strong rider. I’m very happy to have been on this journey with him. I’m really sorry we can’t continue working together, but I’m pleased with the work we’ve done with both of them. They were two different challenges: one needed to find his footing again, the other needed to prove his talent. And today, in different ways, they’ve both done just that.”
Knowing that you’ll be leaving at the end of the year, I think ending on this note is very satisfying. It’s almost a way to come full circle.
“Yes, I’ll be leaving at the end of the year, but keep in mind, today is just Saturday—it’s a Sprint race—and there are still many races to go. As I said, today we’re enjoying this wonderful moment, but tomorrow is another day, and we’ll try to secure a few more victories whenever possible. This is what we have to do: be there, take advantage of the opportunities that come our way, not waste them, and keep moving forward,” concluded the Italian team manager.