Repsol riders in Barcelona unveil their new bikes for World Championship season.
2012 Moto3 Rookie of the Year, Alex Rins, and current Spanish Moto3 Champion Marquez today presented their new project for the coming campaign in Barcelona. The two riders will once again be supported by Repsol, the energy company which backed their efforts in the CEV and, last year, move up to Grand Prix level.
The fifth place earned in the 2012 overall standings and a magnificent preseason put Alex Rins amongst the podium candidates at every race this year. The rider from Barcelona will share a garage with Alex Marquez, who in 2013 contests his first full campaign –following 11 appearances in 2012. Both will ride bikes provided by Austrian manufacturer KTM.
Rins (17 years old) and Marquez (16 years old) are protégés of Emilio Alzamora, and will be teammates once again in a repeat of the duo that were Champion and Runner-up in the Spanish 125cc Championship two years ago –also with the support of Repsol.
Álex Rins >> Audio
“The team presentation was really good, and I’m taken aback by the amount of journalists who attended. I’m very happy, because I’m part of a strong team with the support of brands like Estrella Galicia and Repsol –which is something very positive. We’ve also made a good choice with KTM, as the tests that we have had so far in preseason have gone really well. I’ve adapted quickly to the bike, although we need a few improvements with the chassis still.”
Álex Márquez >> Audio
“The official team presentation is always exciting and impressive. It gives you a little extra motivation with which to start the season. Testing is going fairly well, and little-by-little we are getting to understand how this new Moto3 bike works. We still have the Jerez test with which to find a good setup and get everything ready for Qatar, where I hope to continue progressing and get closer to the frontrunners.”
Emilio Alzamora >> Audio
“We are really happy to have unveiled the team. We’ve managed to put together a very strong technical team, alongside two riders with the necessary experience to begin to show their potential and fight for the top spots. The expectations are very high, but the main objective will be to develop the riders and reaching goals –although they are very ambitious ones. Perhaps Alex Rins has more experience with which to push into the top group, having ridden for an entire GP season. Alex Marquez will have to ride at some new tracks that he doesn’t know, but he did that last year and had good results. We are happy and we still have that final test in Jerez in which to fine-tune the bikes and the team. We are excited and looking ahead to Qatar.”
