Repsol YPF and Honda Racing will continue in 2002 with the technical and sports co-operation they started in 1995, participating in the MotoGP category of the Motorcycling World Championship with a team made up by Valentino Rossi, reigning 500ccWorld Championship and the Japanese Tohru Ukawa.

Antonio Gomis Sáez, Corporative Manager for External Relations of Repsol YPF and Kouji Nakajima, Manager of Honda Racing Corporation, have signed the agreement between both companies during the official presentation of the team, which has been held today at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The riders of the Repsol Honda team will have the new RC211V four-stroke bikes, which make their official race debut on April 7th at the Suzuka circuit, the venue of the Japanese GP.

The winner of the last five 500cc World Championships, Team Repsol Honda will be counting on Valentino Rossi, the reigning champion and unquestionable number one of the World Championship. Rossi, sensational during the preseason tests on the aggressive, spectacular RC211V, has shown that he has adapted quickly to the new bike he rode for the first time in Jerez last November, making today, at the Circuit de Catalunya, the best times ever achieved on this track by a racing bike.

He will be joined by Tohru Ukawa. The Japanese rider, who already took part in the World Championship last year with the Repsol Honda team, is an expert in riding four-stroke bikes, and with Honda gained three victories in the Suzuka 8 Hours. His knowledge and experience will be highly valuable for the evolution of the new bikes.

The Sports career of the Repsol Honda Team is one of the most brilliant in Motorcycling World Championship history: 53 GP victories, 125 podiums and five titles in 500, four with Mick Doohan and one with Alex Crivillé. This extraordinary career was enlarged last season thanks to the support given by Repsol YPF to the Nastro Azurro team, who achieved the World Championship title with Valentino Rossi. The aim of the agreement signed today between both companies is to enlarge this extensive record of victories.