The Repsol Honda Team travel to Portugal this week for the first Grand Prix of the year, held at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve
After completing five days of official preseason testing in Sepang and Portimao, Marc Márquez and Joan Mir will take part in an historic MotoGP season opener this weekend.
Of the seven Grands Prix that Márquez has contested in Portugal, he has achieved 2 victories: One in 125cc in 2010 and another in 2012 in the intermediate class, both at Estoril. The Repsol Honda Team rider comes into the Portuguese Grand Prix 100% recovered from his right arm injury and with the aim of improving the performance of the Honda RC213V.
Mir will start his first season as a rider for the Repsol Honda team in Portimao. The 2020 World Champion has been on the podium at the track already, since in 2021 he managed to finish second and third in the two events that were held there that season. Mir has worked hard in the two preseason tests, demonstrating his consistency and setting himself the goal of achieving a more competitive bike.
The Portuguese Grand Prix will be the first event in MotoGP history to feature a 12-lap sprint race on Saturday (3:00pm local time). MotoGP FP4 on Saturdays and the Moto3 and Moto2 Warm Ups on Sundays have been eliminated from the schedule.
MARC MÁRQUEZ:
“The start of another season is here, and you always get this excitement and feeling before you go racing again. We’ve had a busy off season where we have been gathering a lot of data and aiming for the future. Now we must start and focus on the opening races and remember that racing and testing are very different. This year we have the new challenge of the Sprint on Saturday, a short and intense race that I am sure will bring the fans a lot of excitement. I’m really looking forward to getting back on the Honda RC213V for the 11th season with the Repsol Honda Team.”
JOAN MIR:
“My racing debut with the legendary colours of the Repsol Honda Team is now just a few days away. It’s a moment I have dreamed of, to line up on the grid as a Repsol Honda Team rider. There’s still work to be done, we still have some things to confirm and improve but racing brings a different kind of intensity. Let’s see what we can do in Portimao, the important point is to keep building from where we finished the test and make consistent steps forward.”
