Reigning FIM MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez and teammate Dani Pedrosa have pulled the wraps off their new RC213V racing bikes for the 2017 season. The Repsol Honda team presentation was held after the Sepang test at the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) in the capital city of Indonesia.
Also read: 2017 MotoGP calendar confirmed; Grand Prix schedule, race dates, venue and circuit details
The two riders were then joined on stage at the event by Tetsuhiro Kuwata, HRC director-general manager, race operations management division, and team principal Livio Suppo for the official unveiling of RC213V that the team will race in the 2017 FIM MotoGP World Championship.
Repsol Honda hasn't witnessed any change in the rider line-up. Marquez's RC213V will participate with the number 93 while Pedrosa's bike will bear the number 26. In 2016, the due won six Grand Prix races and Marquez won his third premier class title. Repsol Honda triumphed in the manufacturers' category as well.
"We'll do our best to give them a reason to celebrate. We've started our winter tests well enough, and now we all must keep working and take more steps forward to be prepared to fight at the top again," Marquez, 23, said during the presentation. "Today we officially launched our 2017 season, which is always an exciting moment, even when you've already lived it many times. I feel good and I'm really looking forward to starting the new racing year," Pedrosa, 31, said.
"We'll keep working at 100 percent to continue improving our bike, to allow Marc and Dani to once again fight at the front in the next MotoGP World Championship," Tetsuhiro Kuwata added.
Other major teams such as Movistar Yamaha, Ducati Team and Team Suzuki Ecstar have already revealed their riders and bikes for the new season. Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales will ride for Movistar Yamaha, while Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso will participate for the Ducati Team, and Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins will feature for Team Suzuki Ecstar. The first round of the 2017 MotoGP season is scheduled to take place in Qatar on March 26.
