The Repsol Honda Team has officially launched their 2017 season in a presentation in Jakarta today, with both Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa in attendance to pull the wraps off of their 2017 challenger.
The 2017 RC213V bears an almost identical resemblance to its predecessors, with the only notable difference so far being the new, extended exhaust on the right-hand side of the bike. HRC, like Ducati, Yamaha and Suzuki, did not unveil any new style fairing.
Honda’s launch takes place just a few days after wrapping up the first three-day pre-season test at the Sepang International Circuit, where the new bike was met with mixed responses from both riders.
Though Marquez and Pedrosa were able to the improve by the final day, the new engine proved problematic. HRC have changed philosophy with engine design this season in the wake of two difficult years with an overly aggressive motor. Unveiled in Valencia last year, Honda are now running a ‘big-bang’ firing order to try and cure their acceleration issues.
An updated version of the Valencia motor was brought to Sepang, but problems getting the electronics to work well with it saw their woes persist. Honda are aiming to have a solution in place for the next test in Australia later in the month.
Speaking at the team’s launch, Marquez praised the mass Indonesian crowd for their enthusiasm and also expressed that the opening test, while not perfect, didn’t go too badly for him.
“I’ve come here to Indonesia many times already, and I know how much they love MotoGP,” the five-times world champion said.
“Still, they’re always able to make me feel even more welcome than the last time, which is amazing. We’ve started our winter tests well enough, and now we all must keep working and take more steps forward to be prepared to fight at the top again.”
Team-mate Dani Pedrosa added: “I feel good and I’m really looking forward to starting the new racing year. I’m also happy we came here for our team launch. Last October I wasn’t able to attend an event her due to an injury, and so many people from Indonesia showed me their support. Yesterday at the Astra Honda plant also was amazing. There were more than 2,000 people cheering and greeting us!”
Though the RC213V proved a difficult motorcycle, Honda were still able to clinch the riders’ title with Marquez as well as the manufacturers’ crown in 2016 after four HRC-backed teams took to the top step of the podium across the season.
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