Repsol Honda holds team launch in Jakarta

Repsol Honda has officially presented the 2018 RC213V with which it aims to defend last year's perfect triple crown of riders', teams' and constructors' titles.

Straight after finishing the Thailand test on Sunday, reigning champion Marc Marquez and team-mate Dani Pedrosa headed for Jakarta.

Today's presentation was the fourth in a row to be held in the city and again aimed at tapping into the PR value of MotoGP in the mighty Indonesian market, with the familiar Repsol colours appearing unchanged.

Last year saw Marquez win his fourth MotoGP world championship in five seasons, while Repsol Honda clinched the teams' crown and Honda the constructors' title.

“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," Marquez said. "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.”

Pedrosa was second fastest to Ducati's Jorge Lorenzo at the opening Sepang test, then quickest of all in the recent Thailand outing. 

“When you see how much people in Jakarta love MotoGP, it’s easy to understand why we came here again for our team launch," commented 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.”

Although he hasn't topped a 2018 test so far, Marquez has been the rider to beat for race pace on both occasions.

“From a racing point of view, we’re confident that we can be ready to fight for the title again, because our engineers in Japan made a big effort this winter and our riders are ready," declared new team manager Alberto Puig. 

"We know that our competitors will also be strong, and that they’ve taken some steps forward, but we expect a thrilling season in any case. Let’s hope everything goes well!”

The final pre-season test will be held at Qatar on March 1-3, before the opening night race at the same circuit on March 18.