The Spanish energy company celebrates four decades in the Motorcycling World Championship, during which it conquered 25 titles from all categories. Repsol is present in the sports sponsoring world since 1969 and two years later entered the two-wheel world.
Ángel Nieto, Jorge Martínez “Aspar”, Sito Pons, Álex Crivillé, Emilio Alzamora, Mick Doohan, Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa, Marc Márquez… Great names of motorcycling history both in Spain and abroad, with something in common: all of them were or still are Repsol riders. The wrote this sport’s history during the four decades in which Repsol is confirmed as one of the longest-lived sponsors of this specialty.
Everything started in 1971, when a young Ángel Nieto wore for the first time an ‘R’ on his Derbi’s fairing. It was a day just like today, but 40 years ago (May 9th, 1971) when at the Austrian track of Salzburgring took place the first round of the season. On that date Repsol’s unbeatable track record started to be forged. Ángel Nieto got on the podium twice on that race: to the second place in the 50cc category and to the highest step in 125cc. In the end, he would get his first title in the 125cc class and would be runner up in the smallest category. A successful start for Repsol, which thus began its sponsorship of motorcycling competitions.
Nevertheless, the first in wearing the Repesa logo –Repsol’s embryo− were the rallyes drivers Alberto Ruíz Giménez, Eladio Doncel and José Manuel Lencina, who in 1969 competed with cars of the Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands. That original design, that used Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden at the Valencia Grand Prix in 2008, is alive today in the Repsol Classic Team cars.
Cradle of champions
Since the debut of Ángel Nieto with the energy company, the Repsol riders have constantly been protagonists of the golden pages of the sport’s history. Jorge Martínez “Aspar” achieved the 1988 title of the 80 and 125cc classes. That same year, Sito Pons, with his Honda NSR 250, took the 250cc title wearing Campsa’s livery.
However, it was the premiere category that saw the true emergence of Repsol as an international sponsor. In 1995, the company linked its sponsoring strategy to the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) factory team and, together with Mick Doohan, Álex Crivillé and riders such as Tadayuki Okada or Takuma Aoki, dominated the second half of the decade. The alliance of Repsol and Honda continued up to the present day always at the highest level: it produced nine Riders World Championships and the same amount of Constructors titles. Australian Mick Doohan was the champion the four years he wore the Repsol liver. Crivillé took over and in 1999 won the 500cc title, he was the first Spaniard to win the premier category.
That very same season, Emilio Alzamora, another Repsol rider, took the crown of the 125cc World Championship. Two years later, in 2001, the 500cc class saw Valentino Rossi take the title, again with Repsol’s support. In 250cc, Daijiro Kato achieved the title and in the two following years Rossi kept dominating the highest class, this time with a 990cc. and at the same time of Dani Pedrosa’s debut, who won the 125cc class.
The rider from Castellar del Vallés (Barcelona), now in the MotoGP Repsol Honda Team, took another victory in 2005 in the intermediate class for the second year in a row. Since then he has shown that he is one of the most skilled riders of the World Championship. In 2006, Nicky Hayden also took the Repsol colours to the highest place by achieving the MotoGP title.
The last arrival to this list of Champions was Marc Márquez, who last year broke many records set by all that star riders and took the 125cc championship. This season, the Repsol Honda Team consolidated as the most powerful team of the class with an impressive line-up: Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso, who already gathered two victories in the first three races held.
During these 42 years in competition and four decades in the Motorcycling World Championship, the Repsol name has been consolidated as one of the most prominent among the fans, no longer being a simple sponsor but a symbol of the highest level competition and a synonym of innovation, technology and excellency in fuels for the most demanding sports competitions.
REPSOL TRACK RECORD IN THE MOTORCYCLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
50cc.
1972 Ángel Nieto (Derbi)
80cc.
1988 Jorge Martínez “Aspar” (Derbi)
125cc.
1971 Ángel Nieto (Derbi)
1972 Ángel Nieto (Derbi)
1981 Ángel Nieto (Minarelli)
1982 Ángel Nieto (Garelli)
1983 Ángel Nieto (Garelli)
1988 Jorge Martínez “Aspar” (Derbi)
1989 Álex Crivillé (JJ-Cobas)
1999 Emilio Alzamora (Honda RS 125)
2003 Dani Pedrosa (Honda RS 125)
2010 Marc Márquez (Derbi RSA)
250cc.
1988 Sito Pons (Honda NSR 250)
1989 Sito Pons (Honda NSR 250)
2001 Daijiro Kato (Honda NSR 250)
2005 Dani Pedrosa (Honda RSW 250)
500cc.
1995 Mick Doohan (Honda NSR 500)
1996 Mick Doohan (Honda NSR 500)
1997 Mick Doohan (Honda NSR 500)
1998 Mick Doohan (Honda NSR 500)
1999 Álex Crivillé (Honda NSR 500)
2001 Valentino Rossi (Honda NSR 500)
MotoGP
2002 Valentino Rossi (Honda RC211V)
2003 Valentino Rossi (Honda RC211V)
2006 Nicky Hayden (Honda RC211V)
