MotoGP: Repsol Honda unveils 2015 bike; Stoner completes test

Published Feb. 2, 2015 1:15 p.m. ET

foxsports

Sunday on the tropical island of Bali, Repsol Honda’s World Champion Marc Marquez and teammate Dani Pedrosa revealed their new 2015 RC213V machines.

After a well deserved winter break, both riders are refreshed and eager to get the season started. Shuhei Nakamoto, HRC Executive Vice-President, was present in Bali, together with Team Principal Livio Suppo, to introduce the riders ahead of the first test on Feb. 4 in Sepang, Malaysia.

The Repsol Honda Team enjoyed an incredible 2014 season winning Honda’s third Triple Crown in four years (Rider, Constructor and Team titles) and second in succession. Honda continues its partnership with Repsol – after celebrating their 20th anniversary last season – and remains the longest running sponsor-factory agreement of its kind in the history of the motorcycle World Championship.

Meanwhile, two-time MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner spent the end of last week shaking down the new RC213V.

Brief rain showers interrupted testing throughout the course of the three days, but nonetheless the Australian was able to fulfill the plan set by HRC.

Stoner spent time on both the 2014 and 2015 RC213V machines, doing a chassis comparison and analyzing new variations of the new spec brought to this test by HRC. He also tried new brakes from Brembo amongst various other testing components.

The engineers also took advantage of having Stoner in Sepang to run a few laps on the Suzuka 8 Hour Honda CBR1000RR in the afternoon on the final day.

"Overall it’s been a good test,” said Stoner. “On the first day we worked on the base setup and tested some small things before the rain arrived and we had to stop. Then on day two I spent a lot of time doing a back-to-back chassis comparison from last year’s bike to this year’s and I also tested different variations of the chassis. Brembo brought some new aluminum calipers for us to try and Honda had several other test items, which we managed to get through before the rain came once again.

"On the final day we confirmed some feelings from yesterday and tried a few electronic packages as well as some different suspension. Riding the CBR was very different, I’ve never really ridden that kind of bike, the shifting, riding position, engine power, weight characteristic etc. was quite difficult and took some getting used to. After a few exits I had more of an understanding and was able to give some feedback. In general it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed being able to feel the rear of the bike step out!"