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Repsol Honda Team Celebrates World Championships in MotoGP, Trials and MXGP

Marquez and Pedrosa celebrate HRC’s successful 2016 racing season at Honda Racing Thanks Day.

December 4, 2016

Honda Racing's official riders and drivers come together to celebrate a successful 2016.©Motorcyclist

Over the weekend Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa attended the 2016 Honda Racing Thanks Day at Motegi, Japan, a traditional part of the Company's racing year that brings together official riders and drivers from Honda's various motorsport programs including MotoGP.

Dani Pedrosa on the RS125R he won his 2003 125cc World Championship with and Marc Marquez on historic RC142 heading out onto the Twin Ring Motegi.©Motorcyclist

The event marks the end of the racing season and this year offered Honda a very special reason to celebrate: World Championship victories in MotoGP, Trial and MXGP. This is the first time in motorcycling history that a constructor has achieved such success.

Reigning MotoGP World Champion Marquez and teammate Pedrosa began the special weekend by attending the HRC Thanks Dinner in Tokyo's Cerulean Tower Hotel on Friday, alongside HRC Trials riders Toni Bou, Takashisa Fujinami and Jaime Busto, HRC MXGP rider Evgeny Bobryshev and many others. Sadly, MXGP World Champion Tim Gajser had to stay home sick.

Fernando Alonso and Marc Marquez on the RC213V.©Motorcyclist

Marquez, Pedrosa and their racing colleagues moved the celebration to the Motegi Twin Ring Circuit, where Formula One drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button joined them for a day on track, riding and driving various motorcycles and other machines including the NSX Concept-GT cars.

Pedrosa and the Honda NSX Concept-GT car.©Motorcyclist

Fine weather brought out around 20,000 fans to attend the event, the crowd packing the grandstands to follow the action and cheer their heroes. Both Marquez and Pedrosa had a fun day on two- and four-wheeled machines. After a morning kart race, the racers changed into their leathers to ride CBR250 Dream Cup machines. Then Pedrosa took to the track on the RS125R he used to win the 2003 125cc World Championship, while Marquez rode a historic Honda RC142 race bike. The Repsol Honda duo also raced Honda CR-Z 1.5 Sport Hybrids before climbing aboard their RC213V MotoGP machines for another exhibition run.

Fernando Alonso didn’t miss the chance to have a ride on the 2016 World Champion’s MotoGP bike, sporting beautiful HRC livery, while Marquez rode alongside him on another RC213V, while Pedrosa and Jenson Button drove the Honda NSX Concept-GT cars.