Spanish oil company Repsol, MotoGP’s longest-serving and most recognizable sponsor, will no longer be associated with Honda in MotoGP next season, Motorsport.com has learned.
Repsol appeared on the livery of the Honda NSR500 in the premier class of the World Championship in 1995, with Mick Doohan and Alex Crivillé as riders, and has remained continuously for 30 seasons since then.
After the departure of Marc Marquez at the end of 2023, the oil company, which had renewed the same year until the end of 2024 with the 1+1 formula, enforced a clause in the contract to reduce its financial contribution and, in exchange , lose part of its presence on the livery of the RC213V, a bike ridden this year by Luca Marini and Joan Mir, on which the name of the manufacturer predominates over that of the sponsor.
A move made in anticipation of the fact that media exposure, especially on television, would be seriously compromised by the departure of the eight-time world champion, as is in fact happening.
Sustainable fuels
Through the first third of the season, neither Honda nor Repsol have made any moves to extend their partnership. The Japanese company has several offers to embellish its prototype starting next year, while the oil company wants to focus on the diffusion of non-fossil fuels.
In this sense, Repsol would be interested in continuing to link its image to that of MotoGP also in the future, especially being one of the suppliers of the new sustainable fuels adopted by the championship.
The current regulation has introduced, for this year, the obligation to use 40% non-fossil fuels for the premier class teams, a percentage that should reach 100% in 2027, the first year of modification of the technical regulation. A transformation towards a more sustainable sport that Repsol wants to be part of on a global level, not just focusing on a single team.
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