Mir: Lack of Suzuki MotoGP progress not related to Brivio’s exit
MotoGP world champion Joan Mir says the lack of progress Suzuki has made with its 2021 bike is not down to team boss Davide Brivio’s exit ahead of the season.


Suzuki is yet to win a grand prix in its title defence season, with Mir currently 55 points adrift of championship leader Fabio Quartararo in fourth in the standings having amassed just three podiums from the first nine races.
Mir has been critical this season of the lack of progress made by Suzuki with its GSX-RR, admitting ahead of the summer break that the current package was “not enough” to challenge for the title with.
In the off-season long-time team principal Brivio departed for a shock switch to Alpine in Formula 1 as its racing director.
Brivio was a talismanic leader for Suzuki since its comeback to MotoGP in 2015, but Mir doesn’t believe his departure is the reason why Suzuki has slid behind its rivals in 2021.

Third place Joan Mir, Team Suzuki MotoGP
Photo by: Dorna
“I don’t think so,” he said in an exclusive interview with Autosport when asked if Brivio’s departure has hurt the team more than it thought this season.
“I think that for sure Davide was doing a super job here in Suzuki.
“But I think it’s more what I said: they couldn’t find an improvement, a technical improvement, a big a step as the others.
“That doesn’t mean Suzuki isn’t working – they are working.
“And Davide was not the one who was making the specs.
“So, in this case I think it’s more that they have to continue to improve and everything because we’ve seen that the others did it in a better way.”
Read Also:
Suzuki elected against replacing Brivio, with the team operating under a management committee instead headed by project leader Shinichi Sahara.
Sahara-san told Autosport that there were no plans to find a new team principal this year, with Mir saying he trusts in that judgement.
“Well, I trust a lot on Sahara and honestly if he thinks this it’s because it’s right,” he added.
“He’s the one who’s now leading everything and is inside the project and can see all the problems.
“And for sure, if he says this it’s for a reason.”

Why Mir's MotoGP title defence can’t be written off yet
Vinales' MotoGP future "at a standstill" following Yamaha exit

Latest news
Marquez “will be professional” to the end of Honda MotoGP deal
Alex Marquez says he will remain “professional” through to the end of his Honda MotoGP contract with LCR despite recently admitting a loss of motivation at the team.
Retiring MotoGP ace Dovizioso "really didn't expect" Yamaha struggles
Retiring 15-time MotoGP race winner Andrea Dovizioso admits he "really didn't expect" to encounter the struggles he has in adapting to the Yamaha MotoGP bike.
2022 MotoGP title fight now “very tight”, says Aleix Espargaro
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro believes the current MotoGP championship picture following the British Grand Prix has set up “a very, very tight” title battle.
Pol Espargaro doesn’t think Honda is reacting to MotoGP woes
Pol Espargaro isn’t sure the problems Honda is facing at races in MotoGP this season are being relayed back to Japan as “we’re not getting the material we need”.
The signs Quartararo’s 2022 MotoGP title is slipping away from him
Prior to the summer break, the 2022 MotoGP title looked like it was Fabio Quartararo’s to lose. But a crash at Assen and the consequential penalty he had to serve last weekend at Silverstone stopped him from capitalising on a main rival’s injury woes, while a resurgence from another, plus the rise of a former team-mate, look set to conspire against the Yamaha rider
Why Marquez’s toughest MotoGP foe is stopping at the right time
On the eve of the British Grand Prix, Andrea Dovizioso announced that he will be retiring from MotoGP after September’s San Marino GP. The timing of his departure raised eyebrows, but his reasoning remains sensible and what has happened this year should not diminish a hard-built legacy
Why a Suzuki refugee feels he deserves MotoGP's toughest challenge
Alex Rins’ MotoGP future was plunged into sudden doubt when Suzuki elected to quit the series at the end of 2022. Securing a deal with Honda to join LCR, he will now tread a path that many have fallen off from. But it was a move he felt his status deserved, and it’s a challenge – he tells Autosport - he faces with his eyes wide open…
How Formula 1 has driven MotoGP's changing nature
The hiring of technicians from Formula 1 has clearly contributed to a recent change in the MotoGP landscape, with the role of engineers gaining greater significance relative to the riders. Here's how this shift has come about
The revolution behind Aprilia's rise from MotoGP tail-ender to pack-leader
Coinciding with the arrival of Massimo Rivola as head of its MotoGP division, Aprilia has undergone an internal revolution that has spurred it from occupying last place in the team standings to leading the table in the space of just two years. Those entrenched in the project reveal how the ex-Ferrari F1 chief has achieved the dramatic turnaround
The battle Yamaha's wayward son is fighting to be fast again in MotoGP
Franco Morbidelli was long overdue a promotion to factory machinery when it finally came late last year, having finished runner-up in the 2020 standings on an old Yamaha package. But since then the Italian has been a shadow of his former self as he toils to adapt to the 2022 M1, and recognises that he needs to change his style to be quick on it
Why Honda and Yamaha have been left behind in MotoGP's new era
The once all-conquering Japanese manufacturers are going through a difficult period in MotoGP this season. With Suzuki quitting, Honda struggling to get near the podium and Yamaha only enjoying success courtesy of Fabio Quartararo, Japanese manufacturers have been left in the dust by their European counterparts. Key paddock figures explain why.
Who is Valentino Rossi’s newest MotoGP star?
Valentino Rossi’s protégés stole the show at Assen as Francesco Bagnaia stormed to victory to arrest a recent barren run. But it was the rider in second, on Bagnaia’s old bike, who had all eyes on him. Securing his and the VR46 team’s first MotoGP podium, Marco Bezzecchi has all the characteristics that made his mentor special