The new Repsol Honda project takes the podium, with the tandem formed by Marc Márquez and Joan Mir, the last two Spanish MotoGP champions, and aiming to regain their place in the championship
For the first time since the pandemic, the Repsol Honda team headquarters in Madrid once again hosted the debut of the official team that will compete in the MotoGP World Championship with the challenge of turning old laurels green. Last time the presentation was on this podium, the most successful side in championship history started in the favorites pole, with a Marc Márquez who had come off the sweep last year. The movie has now changed. The Spanish-Japanese giant has been asleep for three seasons, while his benchmark has been sidelined by injury. During this time, Honda has added disappointment after disappointment and will start the 2023 season one step behind its rivals, especially Ducati, the current dominator of the premier class.
What does not change is an alliance that has existed for 29 years. Almost three decades ago, Honda and Repsol joined forces to form their first ‘dream team’ with Mick Doohan and Álex Crivillé. Since then, the most illustrious names in motorcycling have sported these colors and won a whopping 17 driver titles. “It’s not common in the sport to see a commitment of so many years. It is a milestone, something exceptional,” said Manuel Fraga, Repsol’s Director of Communications, on stage, emphasizing that for the Spanish brand “the competition remains an incomparable ambassador”. with European legislation on emissions issues, and from 2027 racing engines must be powered by renewable fuels.
The Repsol Honda 2023 project is renewed, both in the technical part, with the fall of the head of the box, Takeo Yokoyama; as in sports, with the signing of Joan Mir. The pilot from the Balearic Islands enters the team with the great challenge of coming face to face with a Marc Márquez who is now physically recovered and hungrier than ever after three years without being able to fight for the title. A new ‘dream team’ consisting of the last two Spanish MotoGP champions who together hold ten world titles. There is talent, we will have to see if they have a bike of their level.
2023 will be a key year for Marc Márquez. The injury that threatened to take him away seems to have been overcome and four operations on his arm later and numerous physical problems, he will start the season 100 percent physically. “I come from the worst years of my life in which Honda also did not get its best results, so we have to row together,” said the Cervera pilot who was dressed in the colors of 2023 for the first time.
It will be Márquez’s 11th consecutive season in the Repsol Honda box, where he has won six titles in the top category, the last in 2019. And he has made no secret of the fact that his goal this year is to win another championship , making him equal in number to that of Valentino Rossi. “While we’re still in the month of February, we need to talk about titles. I know I have to live with this pressure which gives me one more point and more focus. I missed a push in the last few years, even though I pushed myself to set goals every weekend.
Despite finishing tenth to seven-tenth behind the Ducatis in the first test at Sepang, “the pre-season thrills were exciting,” he stressed. There is one more test to go at Portimao (March 11-12) to take the expected step forward before the start of the championship and Márquez made his prediction for that first Grand Prix of the year: “I see myself among the five favorites .”
Honda’s years of traversing the desert have yet to sap the patience of the Cervera man, although last year he was seen to be pissed off about the situation. “Sometimes you have to pull the rope tighter to get a reaction, I push Honda and they push me. But there has always been a commitment between the two parties to be together and do it together. And by the way, he took advantage of the presentation to ensure he will fulfill the remaining two years of his contract with the team, dispelling the ghosts of a possible hiatus if the project fails to take off. “I have a two-year contract where the aim is to fight for the World Cup, grow the project and get Honda back to where it deserves and where we left off.”
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
