Repsol Honda Team launches the 2011 season in Sepang Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Casey Stoner are already in Malaysia, where the first tests of the year for the Repsol Honda Team will start tomorrow. Repsol Honda Team welcomed today in Malaysia the start of a new and exiting season. Several media representatives and the whole team, with Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Casey Stoner, gathered in the Pan Pacific Hotel of Kuala Lumpur, where the first press conference of the year and a welcome party took place. In their first public appearance together, the powerful Repsol Honda Team line-up for 2011 unveiled the new RC212V. As in 1995, when Mick Doohan, Alex Criville and Shinichi Ito first rode in Repsol colours with their Hondas NSR 500, HRC lines up a three-rider team again, for the first time in the MotoGP four-stroke era: Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Casey Stoner. Repsol Honda Team goes into the 2011 season with a lot of effort and determination: HRC Vice President, Shuhei Nakamoto, underline at the event the hard work done by the engineers during the winter to improve all aspects of the Honda RC212V. Shuhei Nakamoto and Livio Suppo, HRC Communication & Marketing Director, presided the event and were in charge of introducing Dani, Andrea and Casey to the media. The three riders are very excited about this new challenge and determined to fight for victory every Sunday. Shuhei Nakamoto HRC Vice President “We can do this thanks to the great support of all our partners. We are glad to continue the long term relationship with Repsol – not only our title sponsor since 1995, but also a very important technical partner, working together with us to develop fuels and lubricants. This season we welcome a new partner: Astra Honda. I hope they bring good fortune in their first full season with us. “The RC212V that is here in Sepang for this first test of the season, is an evolution of the 2010 machine. Last year’s results show that we can count on a good base but we must continue developing. With important feedback from Dani, Andrea and Casey, I am sure we will take another step forward during the winter tests, to be strong from round one. Nevertheless, our development will never stop, because for Honda, competitions are the best way to test new technology and improve the existing one.” Dani Pedrosa “My target is to fight for the title, of course. In my previous years in MotoGP I had very good races, I’ve been fighting in front but I still miss the title. This can be due to several reasons, but if I could change something I would say my real wish is not to be injured again. It’s very difficult to avoid it, I know, but this would be my first desire, to be in all the starting grids this season because this will give me more points that if I’m not there”. Andrea Dovizioso “Honda has worked hard during the winter and I also did my part. I have started a new training method to gain more resistance in the race distance, I have trained a lot and I really believe in the preparation. Then of course we can see the final results only once I will be on track, but fortunately I don’t have to wait too much. Tomorrow we will be on track and I will start testing the 2011 evolutions”. Casey Stoner Pictorial – Team Repsol Honda is high-res photographs for your desktop |