Honda has unveiled a heavily revised livery for 2024 MotoGP in its new era post Marc Marquez, with the addition of blue.
Celebrating 30 years of collaboration and partnership between Honda HRC and Repsol, Joan Mir and Luca Marini unveiled their striking 2024 Repsol Honda Team RC213V machines at the Warner Music Station in Madrid on Tuesday, February 13. Arriving fresh from the first test of the year in Sepang, Joan Mir and Luca Marini joined friends, family, journalists and more than 600 guests to present the 2024 Honda RC213V for the 2024 MotoGP World Championship.
A striking new livery complements the young and talented pairing of Joan Mir and Luca Marini as the Repsol Honda Team head into a new year of MotoGP action, determined to continue the strong progress made already. 2024 marks the 30th season of collaboration between Repsol and Honda HRC, the longest standing partnership of its kind in two-wheeled motorsports. The relationship has produced 15 World Championships, six different World Champions, 183 premier class victories, 455 podiums and nine Triple Crowns.
Alongside the new livery, 2024 also sees the partnership enter a new era as renewable fuels are introduced into the MotoGP World Championship. The continued collaboration between Honda HRC and Repsol has ensured that the maximum level of performance has been maintained. Joan Mir enters his second season with the Repsol Honda Team, now working alongside Santi Hernandez. A year of learning in 2023 has set the 2020 MotoGP World Champion up for significant improvements in 2024, his ambition for stronger results boosted by an impressive level of work and development from HRC’s engineers.
To date, the 26-year-old has 13 premier class podiums and one victory, alongside his dominant campaign to win the 2017 Moto3 World Championship. Mir’s performance in Sepang demonstrated the improvements that both he and the Honda RC213V have made during the off-season. On the other side of the garage will be Luca Marini, the 26-year-old becoming the 20th full-time rider to wear the colours of the Repsol Honda Team.
Joining the premier class in 2021 after earning six wins and 15 podiums in the Moto2 World Championship, Marini has demonstrated clear progress in his development as a Grand Prix rider. In his three previous seasons in MotoGP, Marini has taken two Grand Prix podiums, two pole positions and four Sprint podiums. 2024 will be the first season of a two-year contract for the Italian.
The 2024 Honda RC213V not only features a new livery, but also a number of upgrades across the machine. From revised aerodynamics to improvements to the engine and chassis. An off-season of intense research and development has birthed a motorcycle which is the first step in closing the gap and battling for positions at the front. Both Tetsuhiro Kuwata, HRC General Manager, and Alberto Puig, Repsol Honda Team Manager, highlighted the importance that this season will play for the team and the championship.
The Repsol Honda Team will now head to the Lusail International Circuit for the final MotoGP pre-season test on February 19 to 20 before the season begins in earnest at the same track just two weeks later on March 08 to 10. It will be the first stop on a 21-race calendar which will span the reach of the globe before concluding in Valencia on November 17.
On the rider side, Joan Mir said: “It’s amazing to be part of a team with such history and success in MotoGP, I am as excited to start this season with the Repsol Honda Team as I was the last one. These team launches are always really nice, especially to see what everyone thinks of the new design. I think the colours for this year are really different and very bold, certainly something unique from the team.
“We have had a positive first taste of the bike and five productive days in Sepang, now we have to look ahead to the Qatar Test and the race. Last year taught me a lot and I am looking to put everything into practice for this year to help the Repsol Honda Team return to where I know they can be. Let’s enjoy this moment and quickly prepare for the season that is to come.”
New signing Luca Marini noted: “For me it is an honour to join the Repsol Honda Team, when I was a young child I already had some leathers in their colours for racing minibikes. Now to be here, at the launch, in the leathers and with the bike – it is a dream come true, something from destiny.
“This bike looks really beautiful, the colours are something very new and I am proud to represent them. We are just at the start of our journey together, but I already feel a part of the team and well supported by the engineers. I’ve ridden just six days on the bike so we are looking to make the most of the last test and begin the year in the best way possible.”
HRC Manager Tetsuhiro Kuwata stated: “2024 is a special year as we celebrate 30 years collaborating with Repsol and enter a new era with renewable fuels. Inside Honda HRC we have been working very hard in order to deliver a package to both Joan Mir and Luca Marini that they can be competitive on. Both riders are young, hungry and are already providing clear feedback for further improvements. It will be another season of developments, of working together with our riders, partners, sponsors, engineers and team members as we strive to improve.”
MotoGP 2024 launches –
[Note: The story is as per press release]
