MotoGP | Honda: here are the new RC213V with HRC colours

Marc Marquez is no longer there, but this is not the only break with the past for Honda. Even though this is the 30th year of the partnership with Repsol and today the Japanese company presented its official MotoGP team in Madrid, in the headquarters of the Spanish oil giant, it is no longer the latter that dominates the fairings of the RC213V.

The preview given a few weeks ago by Motorsport.com has been confirmed: the golden wing brand has decided to return to being more present also in the livery and the main colors are the blue and red of the HRC and on the side of the fairing there is It's very large Honda writing. The spaces dedicated to the orange of the Repsol are greatly reduced and can only be seen in the lower part of the fairing, on the fairing and on the tail. And it is red that acts as the glue, which is in fact the color present in both brands.

The Repsol Honda Team RC213V

Photo by: Repsol Media

For Honda it is a sort of year zero, precisely because after 11 years there is no longer Marquez, who has decided to move to the Gresini Racing Ducati, but also because the Tokyo giant needs to redeem the most disappointing period of his parenthesis in MotoGP: the last victory in fact now dates back to 2021 and even the appearances on the podium have been much more than sporadic in the last two years.

The efforts to try to regain competitiveness have been more than evident over the winter, because the RC213V has changed shape and it is impossible not to notice it. In Japan they have worked a lot on the aerodynamics front, but also under the fairings, because we are talking about a bike that is about 8 kg lighter than its predecessor, but which is also more in line with those of the competition, therefore it is longer and lower. A rather evident evolution even at first sight.

There is also news regarding the line-up, because alongside the confirmed Joan Mir, who will have to try to redeem a first year to forget and has taken over Marquez's team to try, Luca Marini has arrived. The Italian rider was chosen above all because he is considered a good test driver, who can help Honda return to the level of the best, also taking advantage of the new concession system, which will guarantee greater freedom of development.

The Repsol Honda Team RC213V

Photo by: Repsol Media

Above all, the possibility of carrying out private tests with the starting drivers and with a large number of tires available. But not having to freeze the engine and modify it during construction can also be a great advantage. Without forgetting the possibility of homologating a third aerodynamic package during the season.

Returning to Marini, for Luca this is a great opportunity, because for the first time he will be an official rider, but above all it cuts a little the umbilical cord that kept him tied to his brother Valentino Rossi, given that in the last five years he had defended the brother's team colors. Looking at it from another perspective, however, it can also be a sort of closing of the circle, because the rider from the Marche arrives right where the legendary adventure of the #46 in the premier class began, before the great betrayal of 2004 with the move to Yamaha. And who knows, he might be the one to bring Honda back to success, also giving himself what would be his first, and long-awaited, success in MotoGP…