Productive penultimate test day for Repsol Honda Team

An early start in Qatar allowed Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo to improve the setup of their respective Honda RC213Vs alongside their lap times.

With information gained from the opening day of the Qatar Test, Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo were amongst the first riders on track for day two. The Losail International Circuit started the evening in a much cleaner condition, allowing for more productivity from earlier in the day.

Within just a handful of laps, Marc Marquez was able to improve his time from the opening day by almost half a second. 57 laps around the 5.38 km Losail International Circuit produced a best time of 1’55.004, placing Marquez fifth overall. The day was not only for testing the Honda RC213V, but also to test Marquez’s shoulder – the reigning champion completing the highest number of laps since his shoulder surgery in December.

Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo and his side of the Repsol Honda Team garage continued to adjust the ergonomics of the bike to suit the five-time champion’s body and riding style. It proved to be a busy day for Lorenzo who was still able to complete 44 laps while improving his time by a substantial 1.348 seconds to a 1’55.742.

Just a single day of pre-season testing remains before the 2019 MotoGP™ World Championship begins in Qatar on March 8.

Repsol Honda Team show off 2019 colours

Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo sit aboard the Honda RC213V machine in full 2019 livery for the first time.

Having debuted the 2019 Repsol Honda Team livery at the launch in Madrid back in late January, the Spanish duo entered the photographer’s studio to preview the colours they’ll be racing this season.

The pair will soon head to Qatar for the final pre-season test, February 23 – 25, before the season begins at the same venue on March 10.

 

2019 Repsol Honda Team livery revealed in Madrid

Marc Márquez and Jorge Lorenzo were joined by Repsol Honda Team legends Mick Doohan and Alex Crivillé to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Repsol Honda Team.

The two world champions were joined by the world’s press at Repsol’s headquarters in Madrid to unveil the livery in which they will chase the 2019 crown.

Having taken eight of the last nine world championships in the premier class, Marc Márquez and Jorge Lorenzo form a perfect team to celebrate the 25thanniversary of HRC and Repsol joining forces. The first riders to run in these now iconic colours, Mick Doohan and Alex Crivillé, were also able to join the special presentation to share their memories from 1995 onwards.

The riders were joined on stage by Tetsuhiro Kuwata, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) Director, and Antonio Brufau, CEO of Repsol who both outlined and emphasized their plans for continual success. Carmelo Ezpleta, the CEO of Dorna and Begoña Elices, the General Director of Communications and board member at Repsol were also in attendance.

From the Honda NSR500 of Doohan and Crivillé to the RC213V of Márquez and now Lorenzo, the HRC machines have taken 168 victories in the premier class, 14 World Championships, 427 podiums, 182 fastest laps and 177 pole positions together with Repsol, forming not only the most iconic pairing in Grand Prix racing, but also the most successful. Among these accolades, the Repsol Honda Team have also produced four dominating titles for Mick Doohan, the first Spanish 500cc World Champion in Alex Crivillé (1999) and the youngest MotoGP™ champion in history – Marc Márquez. Now they celebrate their 25th anniversary and aim for even more success in the future.

Marc Marquez will now begin his final preparations for the Sepang Test (February 6 – 8) where he and the RC213V will debut the 2019 livery for the first time on track. Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo is set to commence an intense physical therapy routine in order to be as fit as possible for the Qatar Test (February 23 – 25). Finally the 2019 MotoGP™ season begins in under the floodlights in Qatar (March 07 – 10).

Jerez testing goes well for Repsol Honda team

The MotoGP riders completed the second and final day of testing during the last testing session of the year at Jerez de La Frontera in Spain, with Marc Marquez second fastest and just 0.025” off fellow HRC rider Takaaki Nakagami.

Marc and Jorge Lorenzo took advantage of another day in ideal weather conditions to continue their preparation for the new season. Marc set his fastest time of 1’37.970” on lap 53/56. Meanwhile, Jorge finished a very positive fourth with a time of 1’38.105” on his 65th –and final–lap.

It has been a long and successful racing season for the Repsol Honda Team, and the preparation for next year has got off to a positive start. Testing will resume after the winter break, when Marc and Jorge are back on the track in Malaysia, on 6-8 February 2019.

Marquez increases his points lead, taking hard-fought 2nd in Austria

Yesterday Sunday 12th August,  Marc Marquez scored a hard-fought second place at a sunny Red Bull Ring, sharing the podium with race-winner Jorge Lorenzo and third-place rider Andrea Dovizioso.

Marc ultimately missed the win by only 0.130”, and definitely not for lack of trying. After taking the lead on the second lap, he tried to pull a gap at the front, but Lorenzo and Dovizioso closely chased him for most of the race. An inevitable battle was looming.

It began on lap 19 and had all of the 92,955 spectators on the edges of their seats until the last lap. At that point, it was duel between the two fellow countrymen, as Dovizioso had fallen slightly behind.

Although he still has yet to tame the Red Bull Ring, Marc leaves the track with an increased advantage in the points standings (+59 over Valentino Rossi) and the enjoyment he always feels after having given it his all in a race battle.

Dani Pedrosa also made some good overtakes today that allowed him to cross the finish line in seventh place, despite a mishap soon after the start having dropped him from a ninth-place grid spot to 14th at the end of the first lap.

The Repsol Honda Team is now leading the Team standings, Honda the Constructor and Marc Marquez the Rider Standings.

Credit: HRC News

Marquez takes title at Sachsenring

Marc Marquez perfectly mastered a tactical race to take a stellar ninth straight win at the Sachsenring, after starting from pole position.

The reigning World Champion saved his tyres while following Danilo Petrucci and Jorge Lorenzo in the early phases, took the lead on lap 13 when he decided it was time to try and pull a gap and—in the latter stages of the race, when tyre consumption increased—managed his advantage.

Looking strictly at the numbers, today Marc took a second consecutive win from pole, his fifth victory this season, his 40th MotoGP success, and his 66th across three classes, extending his Championship lead over Valentino Rossi to 46 points with 10 races remaining. In addition, his ninth win at Sachsenring came after nine consecutive poles here, and in his 99th MotoGP race, at the season’s ninth round.

Never really comfortable with his bike’s setup during the weekend, Dani Pedrosa could only improve upon his starting-grid spot by two positions, ending the race in eighth place.

Now the Repsol Honda Team will enjoy a two-week break before heading to Brno for the Czech GP on 5 August.

 

Credit: HRC News

Dani Pedrosa announces retirement

Dani Pedrosa, of the Repsol Honda Team, has announced his retirement at the end of the 2018 season. At 4pm on Thursday 12/7/2018 at the German GP, the three-time World Champion ended speculation about his future and made the decision public, bringing his successful 18-year career to an end.

One of the most successful riders of all time, Pedrosa has the third most podiums, 54 wins and three World Championships to date before he prepares to hang up his leathers.

“Next year I won’t compete in the Championship, I’ll finish my career in MotoGP this season. It’s a decision I’ve thought about for a long time and it’s a hard decision because this is the sport I love but despite having good opportunities to keep racing, I feel like I don’t live racing with the same intensity as before and I now have different priorities in my life.”

“I would like to express how fortunate I feel to have had this experience and these opportunities in my life, it’s been an amazing life to have been racing for such an important team and in front of all the fans. I achieved way more than I expected and I’m very, very proud of what I’ve done in the sport. I’ve fulfilled my dream of becoming a racer and that’s something that I didn’t expect when I was a kid watching TV, watching riders in the World Championship. I would like to take this time to say thanks to Dorna and to Honda for giving me this opportunity way back in 1999, and to all my sponsors who’ve been with me throughout my career. I would like also to say thanks to my family, and to all the fans who supported me throughout my career and through the thick and thin, who helped me sending so many messages to overcome difficult things in the past.”

As we previously reported, Dani Pedrosa will be replaced by Jorge Lorenzo for 2019. 

For now we’ve got the German GP to keep us entertained. The action kicks off at Sachsenring this weekend.

Credit: MotoGP News

Marc Marquez scores podium in Catalunya, Pedrosa fifth

Yesterday Sunday 17th June 2018 in MotoGP, Marc Marquez took an important second-place finish in Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló, Catalunya, Spain, which enabled him to extend his Championship lead to 27 points over runner-up Valentino Rossi.

With a great start, Marc got into and through the first turn ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, who passed him on the following lap. Marquez who, outside of two non-point-scoring finishes, has so far never finished worse than second this season, stuck to the countryman for the first 9 laps of the race, looking for a chance to fight for the win. After realizing that it was too risky maintaining Lorenzo’s pace, he settled for the 20 points and a second-place position.

After a good start from the fourth row, Dani Pedrosa was able to maintain a decent pace despite struggling with a lack of grip, defending fifth position over Maverick Vinales on the final lap.

Today Monday 18th June, the Repsol Honda Team will remain in Catalunya for a one-day testing session.

Marquez dominates at Le Mans for superb victory hat-trick

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) roared to his third consecutive MotoGP victory yesterday at sun-soaked Le Mans to boost his quest for a fifth MotoGP World Championship crown in his sixth season in the premier-class.

This latest success for the 25-year-old Spaniard is his 38th MotoGP victory, which moves him to fifth equal in the all-time winners list, alongside Honda’s 2011 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner, with only Jorge Lorenzo, Mick Doohan, Giacomo Agostini and Valentino Rossi ahead of him.

Marquez made a steady start to the race, completing the first lap in fifth position, then waited until his tyres were delivering optimum performance before he began pushing towards the front. Marquez now holds a 36-point championship lead over Maverick Vinales, who won last year’s French GP but finished seventh yesterday.