FILE PHOTO: MotoGP - Valencia Grand Prix - Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia, Spain - November 15, 2020 Team Suzuki Ecstar's Joan Mir celebrates on the podium with then Suzuki Team Manager Davide Brivio after winning the world championship REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo
(Reuters) - Trackhouse Racing MotoGP have appointed former Yamaha and Suzuki boss Davide Brivio as principal with immediate effect, the U.S.-owned team said on Thursday.
The 59-year-old Italian has returned to the MotoGP paddock after a stint as racing director at the Renault-owned Alpine Formula One team.
Brivio led Suzuki to the title with Joan Mir in 2020 and was team manager for the factory Yamaha outfit when MotoGP great Valentino Rossi was the star rider.
NASCAR's Trackhouse Racing, co-owned by rapper Pitbull, announced in December their entry to MotoGP in partnership with Aprilia as replacements for the dropped RNF Racing team.
"It all happened very quickly in the last days with (founder and CEO) Justin (Marks) asking me to help Trackhouse in the MotoGP challenge," Brivio said on the team website.
"It’s so exciting to be a part of this new project since the beginning and I’m really looking forward to getting to know Trackhouse more and see what we can bring in MotoGP from the successful vision and experience that this company has in other sports and environments.
"It could be a great combination of the two worlds."
Aprilia-backed Raul Fernandez of Spain and Portugal's Miguel Oliveira, who raced for RNF this year, will ride for the new team.
Brivio will work with his old Yamaha factory team colleague Wilco Zeelenberg, who is now the Trackhouse team manager.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ken Ferris)
