The Repsol Honda team unveiled an entirely new livery for their RC213-Vs for 2024 MotoGP with longtime title partner Repsol cutting back on its support for the team this season.
Repsol Honda has officially unveiled its bike for the 2024 MotoGP World Championship season, revealing a brand-new design that will not feature six-time MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez for the first time in over ten years.
Honda has broken tradition and abandoned the usual orange, red and white while alternatively adopting orange, red and blue to better represent its major partner Repsol, the Spanish oil giant which is about to enter its 30th season as the factory MotoGP team’s title sponsor.
Honda had long been anticipated to sport a different colour scheme, as rumors circulated that Spanish lubricant manufacturer Repsol was cutting back on its backing of the Japanese automaker after a string of disappointing seasons.
Honda will use a brand-new sustainable fuel created by Repsol, in line with MotoGP’s move this season to only make use of renewable fuel for every manufacturer.
The updated appearance matches Team HRC’s new strategy, which centers on Luca Marini joining Joan Mir in a reworked Spanish and Italian rider lineup.
Marini stated that he feels “proud” to be representing the manufacturer for his third year in the premier class and that he intends to maximize his goal of riding for the factory Honda operation.
“For me it is an honor to join the Repsol Honda Team, when I was a young child I already had some leathers in their colors for racing minibikes.
“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.”
Although Repsol Honda is still, in statistical terms the most successful team and manufacturer to have ever participated in MotoGP/Grand Prix, the brand has been steadily losing ground following Marquez’s several injuries after its last world championship victory in 2019.
Honda placed at the bottom of the five manufacturers racing in the MotoGP, despite securing their first victory since 2021 last year—albeit through Alex Rins and the satellite LCR team.
While it’s a situation the team hopes to steer clear of, HRC General Manager Tetsuhiro Kuwaiti is tacitly optimistic that they will make progress in 2024.
“2024 is a special year as we celebrate 30 years collaborating with Repsol and enter a new era with renewable fuels,” Kuwaiti said. “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.”
Repsol Honda has introduced multiple updates to kick off the 2024 MotoGP. In an attempt to make the bike more manageable at the limit, Honda has incorporated a reworked aerodynamic package and chassis upgrades along with a new engine, which all of its riders praised during the recent Sepang tests for its smoother power delivery.
Repsol Honda is hopeful that these upgrades will be sufficient to get out of the bottom of the constructors championship where it finished last season and perhaps even win its first race since the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in 2021.
