Repsol Honda Signs Marc Marquez

Marc Marquez (left) and Dani Pedrosa will ride for Repsol Honda in MotoGP next season.

Repsol Honda has finalized its riding lineup for the 2013 MotoGP season.

With the retirement of reigning world champion Casey Stoner, the team has signed up and coming rider Marc Márquez to ride alongside Dani Pedrosa, who the team has also signed to a two-year contract extension.

“We are very pleased to renew our contract with Dani and welcome Marc to the Repsol Honda Team,” said Honda Racing Executive Vice President Shuhei Nakamoto. “Dani is enjoying a very strong season and currently fighting with Casey and Lorenzo for the Championship, we are very pleased with his performance. Marc has already proved how fast he is in 125cc and Moto2, and we believe that, giving him the right time to adapt to the new class, he will also be able to show this in MotoGP in the future.”

Pedrosa is second in the MotoGP standings after his first victory of the season last weekend in Germany.

“I’m very happy to be able to announce my renewal with the Repsol Honda Team for the next two years,” Pedrosa said. “It’s been a very long relationship with Honda and I had a strong desire to stay here. The fight for the Championship this year is still open and the next two seasons will be very interesting for me. My whole career has been linked to Honda, since I entered into the World Championship in 125cc, then in 250cc and since 2006 in MotoGP. I’m perhaps one of the riders with the longest history with Honda, which makes me feel very proud. I want to thank HRC once again for their support; I’m sure that we have great things to do together.”

Márquez, born Feb. 17, 1993, will make his debut in MotoGP with the Honda factory team at just 20 years old. He has signed for two years with HRC. He was 125cc World Champion in 2010, runner up on his debut year in Moto2 class and is currently leading the Moto2 World Championship by 43 points.

“To reach MotoGP next season with Repsol Honda is a dream come true and I want to thank HRC for their confidence in me,” said Marquez. “I am very proud to be a part of the big Honda family for the future and I don’t want to forget all the people have helped me since I began to ride motorbikes. Now my focus is on Moto2 where my team and I are working very hard and we are excited to achieve our goal, which is to win the World Championship in 2012.”

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Posted by NSSN Staff on Jul 12 2012 Filed under Latest Headlines, MotoGP, Motorcycles, Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.