Pedrosa kicks off 2015 season for Repsol Honda with Marquez brothers taking an exhibition ride

 In MotoGP, News

marc-marquez-alex-marquez-motogp-test-dani-pedrosa

Fresh from their second successive Triple Crown, the Repsol Honda Team were back on track in Valencia today for the first official test of 2015.

After a long season, Marc decided – together with HRC – that he would not test today, and only his teammate Dani Pedrosa took to the track to begin his test programme.

He began the half day test aboard his 2014 spec machine and then crossed over onto the 2015 prototype – an updated version from the Brno test earlier in the year. He completed a total of 33 laps with his best time of 1’31.602 (lap 15) placing him 6th for the day.

Instead of testing today, Marc and his brother Alex – who was crowned Moto3 World Champion yesterday – took advantage of the kind gift from HRC to Alex to test ride Marc’s MotoGP machine, in recognition of his World Title success, the first one for Honda in Moto3.

The two brothers completed 12 exhibition laps on Marc’s two bikes, riding in tandem around the Valencia track.

The test will continue tomorrow and Wednesday with 2014 World Champion Marc joining the rest of the field in an official capacity tomorrow.

Dani Pedrosa – 6th – 1’31.602 – laps 33
“On this first day of testing we put in only a few laps, just to try out some basic things. The test begins for real tomorrow, which is when we will try to find a good setup. Today we just verified that the bikes work well and that everything is in its right place.”

Marc Marquez – Exhibition lap only
“It was a wonderful experience riding with Alex and following him around the track! Sometimes it got a bit too much for him to take in, which is normal because it was his first laps on a MotoGP bike. I really enjoyed myself, but also had a bit of trouble going behind him because sometimes he went a little wide. Overall, he did very well. Coming from Moto3 and completing some laps on a MotoGP bike is difficult and he surprised us with how well he adapted. Alex enjoyed this experience; we’ll see if in the future we can repeat it!”

Alex Marquez – Exhibition lap only
“I am very happy to have tried the MotoGP bike. Yesterday I fulfilled a dream that I had, and today I fulfilled another. It’s not every day you can try a bike like this! I want to thank Honda and especially Shuhei Nakamoto for this opportunity that they have given me. It is a great gift after becoming Moto3 World Champion. What impressed me the most was the power that the bike has. The feeling you get when you’re on the straight is incredible and braking is amazing too, plus the time between corners is greatly reduced. At first I was a little stiff on the bike, but I think I held up well. It was a lot of fun and I ended up a little tired!”

Source: Repsol Honda Team

Contact Us

We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Start typing and press Enter to search