Joan Mir ‘calm, has confidence’ Suzuki won’t lose way without Davide Brivio
Joan Mir says Suzuki is well placed to maintain its momentum in the absence of Davide Brivio following his exit in the wake of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship title win
Defending MotoGP World Champion Joan Mir says he is remaining ‘calm’ and remains ‘confident’ in the wake of Suzuki Ecstar helmsman Davide Brivio’s exit from the team just weeks after clinching a shock title win in 2020.
Esteemed team leader Brivio guided Suzuki to its first premier class MotoGP riders’ title since 2000, together with the manufacturers’ title, in a compacted 14-round season hampered by delays brought about by the coronavirus.
However, he will embark on a fresh challenge in Formula 1 for 2021 after being named Racing Director for the Alpine F1 Team, where he will look to sprinkle some magic dust on another outfit looking to make the step up from the midfield following its rebrand from Renault.
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Having left his indelible mark on Suzuki, which won’t replace Brivio directly in his erstwhile role, Mir is nonetheless confident the team has plenty of other ‘expert staff’ to maintain momentum in his absence.
“It is a very difficult situation because Davide was a point of reference for the team,” he told SkySports24. “But I’m very calm. I have a lot of confidence, I’m sure we’ll be able to do a good job, we have the people who can do it.
"I really appreciate what Davide has done since he joined Suzuki; coming in at the start with the newly-created project and growing it to become a top team.
"For sure we are affected by [his departure], but I don’t think we are going to lose the way without him, because we always looked at things in the same way and agreed on the direction to take. We also have expert staff to help us manage.
"I fully trust the team structure we have and the rest of the people who helped build it up… We will be more united than ever because we all love this brand, this team, and we will give 150% to carry on with the new challenges in the best way.”
Will Suzuki and Joan Mir miss Davide Brivio?
Davide Brivio leaves Suzuki in a stronger position than when he joined, but just as one rider is nothing without the team support behind the scenes, the Ecstar outfit is now - thanks in part to him - well placed to continue flourishing in his absence. Which is exactly how it should be.
If it is difficult to win a MotoGP title, it is arguably even tougher to follow it up with another and the pressure rests on Suzuki and Mir’s shoulders to continue the upward trajectory they forged in order to prove title glory wasn’t a fluke against the backdrop of unusual circumstances.
Fortunately, there are still clear areas in which Mir himself can improve. He won the 2020 MotoGP title with just a single win to his name, proof if it were needed that consistency - together with strong strategy and raw performancer - is the bedrock of a title challenge,
With Suzuki focusing on improving qualifying pace after Mir averaged a ninth place starting position during the entirety of the year, the team has clear goals… because it most likely won’t be able to rely on sheer consistency alone to keep an eager band of pretenders to its new throne at bay.
