Repsol appeared on the livery of the Honda NSR500 within the premier class of the world championship in 1995, with Mick Doohan and Alex Criville as riders.
Since then, the partnership has remained uninterrupted, with the present season marking its thirtieth anniversary.
The partnership between Repsol and Honda has yielded 15 championship titles, 183 victories and 455 podiums.
Nonetheless, after Marc Marquez’s departure on the finish of 2023, the oil firm enforced a clause in its contract to cut back its monetary contribution and, in alternate, its presence on the livery of this yr’s bike.
The bike, ridden this yr by Luca Marini and Joan Mir, options Honda’s branding predominately over Repsol’s.
The transfer was made in anticipation that media publicity, particularly on TV, could be critically affected by the departure of eight-time world champion Marquez, who left Honda after 12 years to experience a Ducati with the Gresini workforce.
Joan Mir, Repsol Honda Workforce
Photograph by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photographs
With Marquez’s exit, Honda had additionally misplaced Purple Bull’s sponsorship, the Austrian power drink firm deciding to comply with the Spanish rider to Gresini as his private sponsor.
Whereas the Japanese producer has a number of gives to brighten its bike from subsequent yr, Repsol desires to give attention to the promotion of non-fossil fuels.
Repsol is believed to be considering persevering with to hyperlink its picture to MotoGP sooner or later, particularly by being one of many suppliers of the brand new, extra sustainable fuels adopted by the sequence.
The present laws launched for this yr made it obligatory for MotoGP groups to make use of 40% non-fossil fuels, a share that ought to attain 100% in 2027, the primary yr of the technical regulation change.
Honda has continued to battle to be aggressive in 2024, with manufacturing unit rider Mir having scored 13 factors whereas Marini is the one full-time rider but to attain.
Honda is final within the constructors’ standings, 185 factors behind Ducati after six rounds.
