Get unlimited access for free
You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month.
The factory Honda MotoGP team has unveiled the bike that Marc Marquez and newcomer Jorge Lorenzo will ride in 2019.
The works RC213V bikes will continue to carry its title sponsor Repsol’s orange, white and red colours, which have adorned Honda’s premier-class machinery since 1995.
Repsol’s current deal with the team runs until 2020. Both reigning champion Marquez and Lorenzo, who has replaced the long-serving Dani Pedrosa, were present at Honda’s season launch event at Repsol’s Madrid base on Wednesday.
This was despite Lorenzo undergoing surgery on his left wrist on Monday after sustaining a scaphoid fracture that will rule him out of the opening pre-season test at Sepang.
“Marc needs no presentation, for his actions speak louder than words,” said Honda Racing Corporation director Tetsuhiro Kuwata.
“For Jorge, we want to welcome him in the team, and we are sure that the fact he accepted this challenge proves he is a true champion.
“It is our duty to give them the best [service] possible, and we believe there is no better combination than Repsol and Honda for this task.
“Let’s try our best with good spirit, high motivations, to continue being the reference of the MotoGP field.”
Former Honda 500cc riders Mick Doohan and Alex Criville – who were part of the manufacturer’s line-up in its first year with Repsol, in which Doohan became champion – also attended the event.
The 2019 bikes again feature prominent Red Bull branding. Lorenzo will ride with the energy drinks company’s backing for the first time, having previously represented rival companies Rockstar and Monster.
In addition to Marquez’s crown, Honda will be defending its teams’ and manufacturers’ titles during the 19-race 2019 campaign that kicks off in Qatar on March 10.