After the first wave of invitations for MotoGP team submissions were sent out, the Honda teams have now also announced the official bell dates for the 2025 series.
While the Japanese competitor Yamaha is looking for full cooperation with the new cooperation partner Pramac Racing and will hold a joint exhibition in Kuala Lumpur on January 31, Honda is splitting into two exhibitions, as before.
The official presentation of the factory team on February 1 is awaited with great excitement. Because although the most famous sponsor on factory machines has not produced surprises in the last three decades, the 2025 season enters the 2025 season for the first time without the full support of the Spanish oil company Repsol. After the departure of Marc Marquez and a permanent failure, a correction was made.
Although there is still a relationship between the long-term partners, Repsol currently only focuses on the off-road sector when it comes to two-wheeled projects. The company had to restructure to accommodate the expensive MotoGP team. What is certain is that the Castrol oil brand will play a bigger role in the performance of the former Honda factory team.
Recently, however, a customer team, led by the Italian Lucio Cecchinellos, won the British company and built it over several years. At the big GP event at Silverstone last summer, Johann Zarco presented himself on a beautiful Castrol Honda.
How Honda resolved the internal dispute over Castrol’s sponsorship money will become clear a week later. Honda’s 2025 customer team will make its public debut on February 8. Although the factory division will hold an online event, Cecchinello prefers a traditional unveiling in front of an audience. The LCR team will travel to Thailand directly after the MotoGP test in Sepang – the date for the LCR event in Bangkok is February 8.
Not surprisingly, it will be one sided team. Rookie Somkiat Chantra will continue to emerge on the MotoGP stage with strong support from Honda Asia and partner Idemitsu. Due to the Italian team owner’s excellent relationship with Castrol, it can be assumed that Johann Zarco’s machine will once again receive at least some support from England.
So far, there has been no message from HRC headquarters about the new MotoGP title sponsor. The two factory team drivers will receive their wages one way or another. Joan Mir and Luca Marini would like to see a competitive RC213V for 2025.
