The Honda Team have unveiled their 2018 livery during the squad’s official presentation at the Jakarta International Expo in Indonesia, with riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa on hand as the new bike was revealed.
Reigning MotoGP World Champion Marquez and his teammate Pedrosa just completed a successful test in Thailand – where the number 26 topped the timesheets – before flying to Indonesia with Team Manager Alberto Puig and Tetsuhiro Kuwata, HRC’s Director – General Manager Race Operations Management Division, for the presentation
“It’s a real pleasure to once again be in Indonesia for our team launch because this is an important country for Honda and MotoGP,” says Marquez.
“We’ve been here in Jakarta on many occasions, so it already seems very familiar to me! There are a lot of fans who make us feel very welcome, and it’s good to be able to reward their support by coming here and dedicating some time to them.”
“We’ve already done two tests this winter, and they both went quite well. We’ll also work hard in Qatar, in order to put it all together and be ready for the coming season. We want to fight at the front again this year, and to put on a good show for our fans here and around the world.”
“When you see how many people in Jakarta love MotoGP, it’s easy to understand why we came here again for our team launch,” adds Pedrosa.
“From a rider’s point of view, it’s great to see the fans enjoying our sport so much, and to share our own passion. We also had another very good welcome just a few days ago in Thailand, where we had a positive test. So far everything seems to be going well enough, though we’ll understand better where we really are when we’re in Qatar, where the conditions will be quite different.”
“I’m proud to start another season with the Repsol Honda Team, and I’m ready to give 100% to try and fight at the top.”
This marked the fourth consecutive year that the Repsol Honda Team launch has been hosted by Astra Honda in Indonesia, where MotoGP is hugely popular.
So after the huge welcome in both Jakarta and in Thailand, it’s now time for some down time before the next Official Test, which begins in Qatar on the 1st March.
Source: motogp.com