Trackhouse Aprilia's team principal, Davide Brivio, revealed last weekend that Wilco Zeelenberg will be stepping away from the team at the end of the 2024 season.

Zeelenberg has been a key figure since the team's debut as the Petronas SRT Yamaha squad in 2019 and will conclude his tenure with the satellite Aprilia project at the end of its second season under the Trackhouse banner.

In a conversation with MotoGP.com pit lane reporter Simon Crafar before the Aragon race at MotorLand last Sunday, Brivio, who joined at the start of 2024, described Zeelenberg's departure as a "very hard" decision, reflecting on the team’s quest for a new direction.

“We had to make this decision,” Brivio admitted. “Wilco deserves a lot of credit for what he has accomplished. When I arrived, I found a team that he had meticulously built over the years, and it’s a team that, for the most part, will remain intact next year. His contribution has been invaluable.”

Brivio continued, “As Trackhouse looks to the future, we felt the need to explore a different path. It’s a tough call—on one hand, it’s sad, but on the other, it’s part of the business.”

Zeelenberg’s next move remains unknown. The Dutchman, a former 250cc Grand Prix winner, previously managed teams in the factory Yamaha MotoGP garage alongside Jorge Lorenzo and Maverick Viñales before joining the Petronas SRT team in 2019.