2019 rider lineup presents the team’s project for the coming season at Repsol’s Madrid headquarters.
Marc Márquez and Jorge Lorenzo took part in their first official event together as teammates on the Repsol Honda team this Wednesday. The MotoGP World Championship winning riders in eight of the last nine seasons were protagonists in a very special presentation, coinciding with the start of Repsol Honda’s 25th anniversary celebrations. The event also included two legends who were part of the team’s first lineup in 1995: Mick Doohan and Álex Crivillé.
The presentation included the Chairman of Repsol, Antonio Brufau, and the Director of Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), Tetsuhiro Kuwata, who were accompanied during the event by the Director General of Communication and of the Presidency of the energy company, Begoña Elices, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, and the presidents of the FIM Jorge Viegas, and the Spanish Motorcycling Federation, Manuel Casado.
Doohan, Crivillé, Márquez and Lorenzo, representing the past and present of the team, competed in a virtual race, in which the first Honda NSR 500 and the current RC213V shared a track in front of more than 150 journalists from a dozen countries, such as Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Portugal.
Repsol and Honda form the most successful alliance in MotoGP World Championship history, with 401 races contested, 168 victories, 14 World Championships, 427 podiums, 182 fastest laps and 177 pole positions. This collaboration has become a synonym for success and technological evolution, aided by the close relationship that exists between the Honda research centres in Saitama (Japan) and the Repsol Technology Lab, which is located in Móstoles (Spain). The team were behind the four titles for Mick Doohan; the first 500cc World Championship for a Spanish rider with Alex Crivillé; and the youngest MotoGP championship title win in history, with Marc Márquez.
Half a century of Repsol sport sponsorship
2019 also marks the 50th anniversary of Repsol’s participation in the world of sports sponsorship. In 1969 Repsol became the first company in Spain to display its logo in motorsport competitions. This was the era of Ángel Nieto, who in 1971 had an “R” on the fairing of his bike. Following this, Carlos Sainz in the World Rally Championship, Pedro Martínez de la Rosa in Formula 1, Nani Roma and Marc Coma in the Dakar, and the 24 world titles for Toni Bou have been among many other successes earned by the partnership.
Over all these years, the energy company has been present in practically every discipline and categories, getting behind teams, riders and competitions and constantly supporting motorsport from grassroots level up.
The company’s involvement goes well beyond sport. Researchers from the Repsol Technology Lab have been working since the mid-90s on the preparation of the best fuels and lubricants. In 2018 they dedicated around 10,000 hours to the competition program. For this season, 6,000 litres of lubricant and approximately 40,000 litres of fuel have been manufactured for the Repsol Honda Team. The high competition allows them evolve, in extreme conditions, the products that will later be made available to customers.
MARC MÁRQUEZ
“It is a privilege to be part of the family that is the Repsol Honda team. When I was young and I watched races from the sofa at my house I wanted to be here wearing these colours. It was a privilege to start collaborating with Repsol and have their support in the Spanish Championship and, later, to work with them in the World Championship. And now I’m here, helping Repsol and Honda win more titles, making their history even more successful. It’s something that makes me very happy. When I was in Moto2 I knew that I wanted to ride for Repsol Honda and I wanted to win the MotoGP title. That’s why, when journalists ask me if I’m going to change teams, I think: Why would I change if I’m already part of an incredible team? Here we are a family, the relationship with Repsol and Honda is fantastic and this is something very important for achieving our goals, year after year. I hope that by the end of 2019 we can celebrate something beautiful together.”
JORGE LORENZO
“Repsol Honda are on a different level in every way. I could see it at the Valencia test, when I had many people around me listening to what I was saying. It is a dream for any rider to be part of this team. I am very demanding on myself and always try to get the best out of each situation; I want to repay the team for all the trust they have given me with good results. I am very proud to be on a team with as many victories and as much history as Repsol Honda. I like the bike a lot, it turns in very well and is very docile; In addition, the team gave me a very warm welcome from my first day here. My main objective for 2019 is, first of all, to recover one hundred percent and be able to demonstrate on track that we really are the Dream Team that people are talking about.”
ANTONIO BRUFAU – Repsol President
“We are proud to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the collaboration between Repsol and Honda. This alliance is a way of demonstrating that every year we improve both our fuel and our lubricants, thanks to the collaboration between the engineers and everybody involved in the team. This is a very competitive field and our alliance has been very successful, so we would like to thank Honda for all their effort, talent and contribution to this team. I hope we can celebrate a great 2019 and that this collaboration between Repsol and Honda continues to be as strong as ever.”
TETSUHIRO KUWATA – HRC Director
“Repsol and Honda have worked together for years, 25 in fact, to achieve excellence; for our customers, for our fans and for our riders. In this long period we have maintained our determination and target of improving our products, raising the bar once again. And year on year we are getting closer and we are chasing our dreams of a better product constantly. Today, we are happy to reveal the new Repsol Honda team with two riders that have demonstrated the excellence in all areas that riders need to be the best. The Repsol Honda team is always looking for this excellent, it’s our duty to give the riders the best we can possibly can, and we believe there is no better combination than Repsol and Honda for this task.”
