Dorna Sports announced there will be a MotoGP test at Argentina’s Circuito Internacional Termas de Rio Hondo in July to allow teams to prepare for the track’s expected addition to the 2014 MotoGP calendar.

Argentina was actually supposed to join the MotoGP tour this season, but the round was scrapped because of a dispute between the country and Spain after the Argentine government seized control of a Repsol subsidiary. Repsol is, of course, a prominent sponsor of several teams including Honda‘s factory team.

A number of teams will take part in the test, which will take place July 1-5 following the TT Assen in the Netherlands. Dorna has not said which teams will take part in the test, only stating representatives of Ducati, Honda and Yamaha will be taking part. MotoMatters however reports the Repsol Honda factory team, the LCR Honda team as well as the factory Yamaha team will not be present. Continue Reading »

The first-ever green flag for MotoGP at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, TX drops on April 19-21, and Honda fans can play an important role in this history-making event.

With exclusive VIP packages, Honda is offering a memory-making experience that gives fans full-frontal access with select company — a crowd of pure Honda enthusiasts. Sign up, and together everyone can cheer Repsol Honda Team stars Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez on to victory aboard the RC213V. Continue Reading »

Repsol Honda revealed the livery off its RC213V racebikes and leathers of riders Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez for the 2013 MotoGP season. The livery is again dominated by the colors of the team’s top sponsor, Spanish oil giant Repsol, but with more white and less black, particularly along the bottom of the fairing.

The Repsol logos on the sides now slope downward toward the swingarm whereas the previous design had them rising up toward the seat. The new design keeps the Honda wing motif, but instead of running along the fuel tank like in last year’s livery, the wing tips extend along the side fairings under the seat.

Honda also announced some changes to the team’s structure, with Livio Suppo being promoted to team principal. Suppo joined Honda in 2009, leaving Ducati to head the Honda team’s marketing efforts. Though his previous role was officially to help attract sponsors, Suppo played a strong role in the racing side of things and may have been instrument in luring the now retired Casey Stoner to Honda from Ducati. Continue Reading »

Dorna announced it has removed Argentina from the 2013 MotoGP calendar over fears for the safety of Repsol employees – including Repsol-sponsored racers – following the Argentine government’s expropriation of the oil company’s local subsidiary.

Back in April, the Argentine government passed law 660 and expropriated 51% share of YPF, a Repsol subsidiary. The move created tensions between Argentina and Spain, leading Spain to issue a travel warning  for Repsol staff, advising them not to travel to the South American country.

Despite the continuing controversy, Argentina was penciled into the provisional 2013 MotoGP calendar released in September as the “to be confirmed” April 14 round in the hopes a resolution would be found. Continue Reading »

Spanish oil company and noted motorcycle racing sponsor Repsol recently gathered its cadre of riders from MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and the Spanish CEV championship for a special race – on electric minimotos.

Honda MotoGP riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa were joined by Moto2 racer Marc Marquez, his brother Alex Marquez and his fellow Moto3 racers Miguel Oliveira and Alex Rins and CEV racer Maria Herrera in the minimoto race. Hijinks ensued as racers grappled for position in the low-speed race. Continue Reading »

American Honda announced a number of returning 2013 models with new color options but the most eye-catching of the new paint jobs is the Repsol-edition CBR250R.

Dressed to resemble Casey Stoner‘s and Dani Pedrosa‘s Honda RC213V MotoGP race bikes, the 2013 Repsol edition Honda CBR250R sports the Spanish petroleum company’s orange with red and white colors, the Honda Racing Corporation logo and the “One Heart” motto of Honda’s Indonesian joint venture which also sponsors the MotoGP team. Completing the look are the Repsol-orange wheels. Continue Reading »

Casey Stoner has withdrawn from the Brno, Czech Republic MotoGP round to undergo surgery on his injured ankle. Trailing Yamaha‘s Jorge Lorenzo by 39 points and Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa by 21 points with seven rounds to go, Stoner’s hopes of repeating as MotoGP champion before retiring at the end of the season are all but dashed.

The Repsol Honda rider injured his ankle in a high side crash in last weekend’s Indianapolis Grand Prix. Stoner still managed to compete on The Brickyard, finishing fourth despite his injury. Stoner traveled to Brno intending to compete in the upcoming Czech Republic Grand Prix but made the decision to return to his native Australia for surgery to avoid permanent damage to the ankle. Continue Reading »

Honda Racing Corporation announced it has signed rising Spanish talent Marc Marquez to a two-year contract on its factory team. He will race alongside Dani Pedrosa who signed a two-year contract extension with Honda to race in the 2013 MotoGP Championship.

Marquez currently leads the Moto2 Championship by 43 points for the Catalunya Caixa Repsol team after finishing second in the series in 2011. The year before that, Marquez won the 125cc World Championship.

The 19-year-old was a natural fit to replace the retiring Casey Stoner on the Repsol Honda team after series organizers decided to lift its rule banning rookies from signing with factory teams. Many believed Marquez would have made the jump to the premiere class this season had the rookie rule not existed. Continue Reading »

Dani Pedrosa is probably the most enigmatic of MotoGP’s “Aliens”. He doesn’t have the charisma of a Valentino Rossi, he doesn’t attract controversy like teammate Casey Stoner, and he doesn’t have the exuberant victory celebrations of Jorge Lorenzo.

There’s also a large segment of American fans who still can’t forgive Pedrosa for taking out his teammate Nicky Hayden at Estoril in 2006, almost costing the Kentucky Kid the championship.

Honda Racing has released a video offering a peak at the everyday life of Pedrosa at his winter home in Switzerland. In the film, we see how Pedrosa trains, what he does for fun, but perhaps most tellingly, how he values his privacy (yes, it’s a bit ironic, with the camera following him around).

Check out the video after the jump: Continue Reading »

It’s been about a month since Casey Stoner last tested the Honda RC213V racebike at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit but the defending World Champion remains the man to beat, setting the fastest lap at the first day of MotoGP’s February Sepang test.

Heavy rain limited teams’ testing and Stoner only completed 16 laps but still managed to set a time of 2:01.761. Stoner was the only rider to lap under 2:02, though his Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa came close with a time of 2:02.005 while completing 36 laps.

Honda released onboard video of Stoner lapping the 3.44 mile circuit (look for it after the jump). Continue Reading »