FIRST LOOK: 2023 Repsol Honda MotoGP livery for Marc Marquez, Joan Mir

This is the 2023 Repsol Honda MotoGP livery for Marc Marquez and new team-mate Joan Mir.
2023 Repsol Honda livery for Marc Marquez and Joan Mir
2023 Repsol Honda livery for Marc Marquez and Joan Mir

The latest🌊 Repsol Honda colours - unveiled this morning in Madrid - are a continuation of the familiar orange, white and red that has been taken to the premier-class title 15 times since 1995.

That includes six world championships for Marquez between 2013 and 2019.&nb𒈔sp;But the Spaniard’s subsequent 🤡arm and eye injuries left the team without even a race win for two of the past three seasons.

The good news is that last June’s bone realignment surgery 💜in the USA was a success and the 30-year-old is in his best physical shape since the fateful Jerez 2020 accident.

But major question marks remain over the tec🍃hnical performance of the RC213V.

Last year’s Honda took just two podiums, pꦛrompting Takeo Yokoyama to be replaced by ex-Suzuki technical manager Ken Kawauchi.

Marquez started the recent Sepang test w🐭ith four different bikes: a 2022, two evolutions o🀅f the 2023 prototype from last November’s Valencia test and an ‘experimental’ machine.

The Spaniard went ꦗon to pick one of the ‘Valencia’ bikes by the end of the test, which he finished tenth faᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚstest (but only 15th in terms of average lap time), but warned:

“It's not the bike that I need to win the championship. I need another step. But it's important to have one base clear and forget𒉰 the others.”

Just one more test, at Portimao on March 11-12, now remains before the start of the new racing season at the same Portuguese circuit on March🍃 26.

2023 Repsol Honda livery for Marc Marquez and Joan Mir
2023 Repsol Honda livery for Marc Marquez and Joan Mir

While Marquez and Honda haven’t won a MotoGP race since Misan🦄o 2021, the last time a Repsol Honda rider other than Marquez took victory was Dani Pedrosa back in 2017.

Jorge Lorenzo, Ale🐼x Marquez and Pol Espargaro have all passed through the team since then, with 20꧒20 world champion Mir arriving on the back of Suzuki’s shock MotoGP exit.

Mir, 25, followed up his historic G🅷SX-RR title with third the following season, but didn’t grace thꦗe podium during an injury-interrupted 2022 campaign and is yet to repeat his lone 2020 race victory.

Mir progresse💦d from 17th to 16th to 12th on the timesheets during the three days at Sepang, setting a best lap time within 0.2s of his new team-mate.

500cc/MotoGP world champions in Repsol Honda colours:

  • Marc Marquez x 6 (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
  • Mick Doohan x 4 (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998)
  • Valentino Rossi x 2 (2002, 2003)
  • Alex Criville (1999) / Nicky Hayden (2006) / Casey Stoner (2011) x 1

Peter h🦋as been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the S♚uzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.

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