Suzuki is still without a team manager since Davide Brivio left the team at the end of 2020, after winning the drivers and team titles, to become Alpine racing director in Formula 1. The Hamamatsu house has organized to replace him in 2021 by placing together a committee of seven top names, led by Shinichi Sahara.
However, Sahara himself admitted late last year that this role put too much load on him and that Suzuki would be looking for a worthy replacement for Brivio for 2022. Speaking to the Spanish edition of Motorsport.com, Sahara said. : “I haven’t changed my mind. It just takes more time than I imagined or hoped for. We are still negotiating with several candidates, but we have not closed any agreements yet. I can’t say more so as not to compromise the people involved. But yes, the idea is still to have a team manager ”.
Recently, there had been rumors that Brivio would return to Suzuki in 2022, given the uncertainty of his role in Alpine at the dawn of the 2022 season of a renewed Formula 1. Sahara, in fact, had ruled out a return of Brivio to the team , and when asked about him again, he replied: “I’ve heard something about the changes in the Alpine, but I don’t know the details. I will not say anything about the possible names, anyone could be our new team manager ”.
Alex Rins, Suzuki MotoGP Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Furthermore, at the end of 2022, the contracts of both drivers, Joan Mir and Alex Rins, expire. However, Sahara says that the priority is to confirm them also for 2023: “Suzuki wants to keep both Joan and Alex, we told both of them. But at this time of the year, the most important thing for us is to give them the most competitive bike possible. With this we hope to be able to fight for the title again. At the moment, I am not concentrating on negotiations with them, but on performance with the bike ”.
Suzuki carried out two days of pre-season tests in Sepang, which ended with a positive balance: Rins finished fourth in the overall times standings and Mir 12, but the latter without having made the time attack on the second day, in which the rain ruined the plans.
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