Repsol Honda Signs Marquez and Pedrosa for 2013 MotoGP Season

Honda Racing Corporation announced it has signed rising Spanish talent Marc Marquez to a two-year contract on its factory team. He will race alongside Dani Pedrosa who signed a two-year contract extension with Honda to race in the 2013 MotoGP Championship.

Marquez currently leads the Moto2 Championship by 43 points for the Catalunya Caixa Repsol team after finishing second in the series in 2011. The year before that, Marquez won the 125cc World Championship.

The 19-year-old was a natural fit to replace the retiring Casey Stoner on the Repsol Honda team after series organizers decided to lift its rule banning rookies from signing with factory teams. Many believed Marquez would have made the jump to the premiere class this season had the rookie rule not existed.

“To reach MotoGP next season with HRC is a dream come true. I want to thank HRC for their confidence in me,” says Marquez. “I am very proud to be part of the big Honda family for the future and I don’t want to forget all the people who have helped me since I began to ride motorbikes. Now my focus is on Moto2 where my team and I are working very hard and we are excited to achieve our goal, which is to win the World Championship in 2012.”

Pedrosa’s signing comes days after recording his first win of the season and 16th overall MotoGP win for Repsol Honda. Pedrosa finished in the top five in the MotoGP championship every year since entering the class in 2006 but the title has eluded him. Pedrosa does have World Championship titles in the 250cc and 125cc World Championships.

“I’m very happy to be able to announce my renewal with the Repsol Honda Team for the next two years. It’s been a very long relationship with Honda and I had a strong desire to stay here,” says Pedrosa. “The fight for the Championship this year is still open and the next two seasons will be very interesting for me. My whole career has been linked to Honda, since I entered into the World Championship in 125cc, then in 250cc and since 2006 in MotoGP. I’m perhaps one of the riders with the longest history with Honda, which makes me feel very proud. I want to thank HRC once again for their support; I’m sure that we have great things to do together.”

[Source: Honda; Photo by GEPA Pictures]

By Dennis Chung