Repsol Honda reveal 2023 colours and bikes in Madrid

On Wednesday morning, journalists, guests and fans at the Repsol Campus in Madrid, headquarters of the multinational energy company, Marc Marquez and Joan Mir presented the Honda RC213V on which they will compete during the 2023 MotoGP™ World Championship. The two Spanish riders, sharing 10 World Championships between them, join forces in a formidable Repsol Honda Team lineup for the coming season.

Honda and Repsol’s alliance stretches back 29 years, sharing success and technological development along the way. It is the longest collaboration in the world of motorsports competitions and has seen the team earn 15 World Championships, 183 victories and 454 podiums in the premier class.

Marquez is back at full fitness after some difficult years with injuries. The eight-time World Champion will again aim to fight for the title in his eleventh year with the Repsol Honda Team. In the 154 Grands Prix he has contested with the team, he has 100 podium finishes, of which 59 have been victories, 63 pole positions and six Premier Class titles.

Mir was MotoGP™ World Champion in 2020, as well as winning the Moto3™ title on a Honda in 2017. He joins the Repsol Honda Team after 65 races in the premier class, with 13 podiums and one victory.  Mir had his first experience of the RC213V at the Valencia Test last November, continuing his adaptation in the recent Sepang test.

Marcos Fraga, Repsol Director of Communication & Brand, and Director – General Manager Race Operations Management Division of Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), Tetsuhiro Kuwata, also spoke during the event. This will be an important season for the most successful team in the history of MotoGP™, not only in terms of competition but also for the future of the sport: in 2024, renewable fuels will become a reality in MotoGP™, using sources such as organic waste to efficiently reduce emissions in the immediate future. Thanks to the commitment made by Dorna and the FIM, MotoGP™ fuels must be of at least 40% of non-fossil origin in 2024, rising to 100% in 2027.

Throughout 2023, tests and work undertaken in Japan and at the Repsol Technology Lab will be essential for offering the Repsol Honda Team riders the best engine and renewable fuel combination for next season. Both companies have been working on this for some time, as could be seen in the tests carried out by Marquez at Jarama a few months ago.

Before the World Championship starts in Portimao (Portugal) on March 26th, the riders will have an official test on March 11th and 12th at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.

Marc Marquez: “The bike looks great again this year! I am really looking forward to riding in full Repsol Honda Team colours again at the Portugal Test. It’s great to be here with the whole Repsol family who have been with me and the team for such a long time. It will be an important test in Portimao, as we have some work to do, but the engineers have been working hard in Japan. I am eager to keep working and get this season started, I am feeling fit and ready to go racing.”

Joan Mir: “It feels incredible to wear the full Repsol Honda Team colours for the first time and to show off the latest version of the Honda RC213V. It’s such an honour to join this iconic team and my focus is to deliver the best results possible, what is expected when you join a team such as this. We’ve made good progress already in Sepang and we still have time to prepare in Portugal, we keep working and we keep improving.”

Tetsuhiro Kuwata (HRC Director): “We arrive at the 2023 season after some challenging years, but we have not lost our spirit or our drive. Honda has won 25 Premier Class World Championships, including 24 Constructors Championships and we know what we are capable of as a company and as a constructor. Competition in MotoGP is tighter than ever, but we are continuing to work to our maximum in order to give our riders what they need. It is a pleasure to again be with our partners at Repsol to unveil our new colours for a new season, another beautiful Repsol Honda Team machine.

“We have two great riders to lead us this year, Marc Marquez’s history and accomplishments with us need no explanation. He has brought us some of the brightest points in our history and we are delighted that he is back to full fitness. On the other side of the garage is Joan Mir who has already twice been a World Champion at 25 years of age and has a proven track record of adapting quickly to new situations. I hope to see them both achieving the success we at Honda HRC know they are capable of this year.”

Marcos Fraga (Director of Communications and Corporate Marketing at Repsol): “We always take great pride in celebrating our alliance with HRC at Campus Repsol, a relationship which has now reached 29 years of joint success. Once again, we are faced with the challenge of returning to the path of triumph. It is a year of great importance for our alliance, we are aware of the great challenge that we will face also in 2024 with the arrival of biofuels in MotoGP. The engineers from our Repsol Technology Lab and our colleagues at Honda are working closely together to develop the fuel and lubricants that we will use in 2024. I hope that we can celebrate a great 2023 season and that the Repsol Honda pairing continues to bring us much success.” – www.motogp.com