Davide Brivio returns to MotoGP this year as the team manager of Trackhouse Racing, where Miguel Oliveira and Raúl Fernández are the riders. The premier class is different from when he left at the end of 2020, admitting that he still needs to get to know the championship again.
The Italian explained that at this point it is premature to make assessments about what may be achievable in the races: ‘It is also difficult to evaluate in a test. You always have to see, maybe, after two, three, four races in the championship. Because in the test maybe you do a fast lap. But can you do 15 or 25 fast laps? Can you be consistent? What about fuel consumption? So, there are several things‘.
On the other hand, Brivio explained that MotoGP is very different from the past, considering the pace of motorcycle development:
– I have to build my idea and I need to gather more information, but as far as I can see, also a bit from previous years, with this aerodynamics, development, probably the riders have to develop different skills, different ways of riding the bike. And you can see that even within the same brand, maybe someone is very happy, someone can’t adjust to the bike. I think in the future it will become another variable, maybe you have two riders, both can be very happy, and maybe one is happy and the other can’t adapt. Because you always need to adjust your riding style to aerodynamics, devices, and all these things. I have the impression that it is becoming… not a different sport, but you need a different approach compared to a few years ago, when the bike changed, evolved, but let’s say it was always the same bike. Maybe having a better engine, a better frame. Here the steps are much bigger and consequently it is much more difficult for the rider to adapt to these things.
The team boss of Trackhouse Racing gave an example with Oliveira, who found a 2024 Aprilia RS-GP very different from the 2022 one he rode last year: ‘Miguel went from the 2022 to the 2024 model. It seems to be a big leap. My feeling is that it was almost like changing brands. It’s not just an evolution, it’s a big leap. So, this tells you how much difference there is between one bike and another in one or two years‘.
