The Repsol Honda team is the factory team of the Honda Motorcycle division. Honda has been a part of motorcycle racing for well over fifty years and has brought in numerous technological advancements to the sport.
Repsol Honda has been a part of the line-up since the inception of the MotoGP class in 2002. As the sport shifted its focus to four-stroke engines in 2002, the Japanese manufacturers dominated most of the championship, accumulating the maximum number of riders’ championships.
Looking at Honda’s recent past, the team dominated motorcycle racing in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Mike Doohan’s scintillating drives in the late 90’s combined with the introduction of the ‘Big Bang’ engine earned the team five riders’ championships. Valentino Rossi’s arrival to the Honda team in 2001 brought in more success to the team until his departure at the end of the 2003 MotoGP season. The team was forced to take second-place as the class was dominated by Yamaha and the new entrant Ducati. Honda managed to secure only one championship in the next seven years.
Marc Marquez’s arrival at the scene changed the fortunes of the Japanese manufacturer with the team recording multiple dominating performances since 2013 and has established itself as one of the teams to beat this season.
World Championships
Repsol Honda team tasted riders’ championship success in their very first MotoGP class season. Since then, the team has managed to secure eight riders’ championships. The arrival of Marc Marquez has boosted the team’s chances in the last five years, as the Spaniard took home four championships since 2013.
Current Riders
Marc Marquez joined the Repsol Honda team in 2013 after his promotion to the MotoGP class. His arrival into the premium class created waves in the division as he secured the riders’ championship in his very first season. Since his MotoGP debut, the Spaniard has managed to add four more titles to his name and currently leads the 2018 riders’ championship.
Dani Pedrosa joined the Japanese team in 2006 and had decent seasons with the team. He was always amongst the top group battling for the title but never managed to land his hands on the elusive MotoGP riders’ championship. Pedrosa announced that he would retire from the MotoGP class at the end of the 2018 season.
Honda confirmed that Jorge Lorenzo would replace the Spaniard in 2019.
Headquarters: Aalst, Belgium
Debut MotoGP race: 2002 Japanese Grand Prix
General Manager: Tetsuhiro Kuwata
Team Manager: Davide Tardozzi
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