Honda Launches New MotoGP Bike with Major Changes
Honda’s factory MotoGP bikes no longer feature Repsol branding, with Castrol becoming the new title sponsor
A change that was expected after 30 years together, Honda's new 2025 MotoGP bikes no longer feature Repsol branding as British Oil company Castrol has instead taken over as the title sponsor.
The change means Castrol will have sponsorship involvement across both Honda teams as it is also a sponsor for the LCR bike of Johann Zarco. The new bikes also look much closer to the CBR1000RR-R SP road bike produced by the Japanese company, as well as its WorldSBK machine.
Featuring the traditional red, blue and white of Honda, the two factory RC213V’s which will again be ridden by Joan Mir and Luca Marini in 2025, have already been in action at the Sepang Shakedown test.
While the rider pairing remains the same in 2025, further changes to the bike to make it more competitive have been made by Honda, who also features a brand new test team including Aleix Espargaro and Takaaki Nakagami, alongside Stefan Bradl.
Speaking about the changes for 2025, President of Honda Racing Corporation, Koji Watanabe said: “On behalf of Honda HRC, I would like to welcome Castrol to the MotoGP project. HRC and Castrol both share the same vision, drive and focus on technology and the future. We have enjoyed great success with them in the past and also in other categories, so it was a natural fit.
“Everyone is working hard to bring success to the MotoGP World Championship in 2025, we must continue to remain focused and diligently walk the path ahead of us. With Joan Mir and Luca Marini, we have two strong and talented riders to help us push forward on this journey. Racing is at the very core of Honda, and I am sure that we will achieve more success this season.”
The partnership between Repsol and Honda yielded 15 world championships, with Mick Doohan, Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and Marc Marquez all winning titles with the two brands.
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
