The 2026 HRC MotoGP machine in high-res detail – Team Launch

MotoGP 2026

HRC

Honda Racing Corporation have revealed the colours that will carry Honda HRC Castrol through the 2026 MotoGP World Championship, with Luca Marini and Joan Mir again forming the factory rider line-up.

Koji Watanabe – President of Honda Racing Corporation

“It is a pleasure to help reveal the 2026 Honda HRC Castrol team and highlight our global effort to return to the top of the MotoGP World Championship. It’s a special year for Honda HRC as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of our first participation in the premier class. We are looking forward to commemorating this historic moment throughout 2026. Everyone in this team plays their part, as do all of our partners, and I want to deeply thank everyone involved in the progress we made in 2025. Our target for this season is clear: we must maintain the trajectory we have and consistently compete at the front. Luca Marini has shown a steady hand and a keen technical mind, with Joan Mir’s determination and resilience inspiring us all. I would also like to commend Castrol for their efforts as our partnership continues to strengthen.”

Honda HRC Castrol’s 2026 MotoGP livery retains the traditional HRC tricolour for the final season of the 1000 cc RC213V.

Now entering its second season, the Honda HRC Castrol project builds on a markedly improved 2025 campaign, which delivered Honda’s most competitive RC213V performances since 2019. That progress has been driven by sustained engineering development, closer technical integration with Castrol, and growing stability on the rider side, as Marini and Mir begin their third year together in the factory team.

Alberto Puig – Team Manager, Honda HRC Castrol

“The DNA of this company is racing. What prevails, what finally is going to make the direction is the passion to win and the passion for racing that this company has shown throughout history. The foundation of Honda for 2026 is what we’ve done in 2025, there were solid developments on the technical side, and both riders were able to make progress. Marini’s consistency was crucial in graduating to a new Concession Rank and Mir was able to show his talent as a champion with two great podiums.”

Honda will again race under the traditional HRC tricolour. Red, blue and white return for what will be the final season of the current 1000 cc RC213V, with Castrol branding remaining a prominent feature of the factory machine. Honda says the continuity in design reflects a broader emphasis on consistency and incremental performance gains rather than wholesale change.

Riders targeting another step forward

Marini enters his third season with Honda following a quietly effective 2025 in which his consistency stood out. The Italian missed the top ten just twice in the second half of the year and was a key contributor to Honda’s improved overall competitiveness. His focus for 2026 is to take another step toward regular podium contention.

Luca Marini

“It’s a pleasure to begin another season with Honda HRC Castrol. The progress we showed in 2025 was incredibly rewarding and all winter I have been working to improve myself and begin this new season in 2026. Our objectives are clear: to be there fighting near the front and take full advantage of any and all opportunities which are presented to us. Everyone in this project has done their homework over the winter and I am itching to get back on the Honda RC213V and ride again. In the last year of the 1,000cc we need to finish in a good way and enjoy the beautiful moments along the way.”

Luca Marini

Mir arrives with renewed momentum after securing his first podiums as an HRC rider at Motegi and Sepang last season. The 2020 MotoGP World Champion showed flashes of front-running pace throughout 2025 and will be aiming to convert that speed into consistent results as development of the RC213V continues.

Joan Mir

“Another beautiful bike that I am proud to ride, being part of Honda HRC Castrol is something very special. In 2026 we need to find the consistency we struggled with last year, we showed that both myself and the Honda RC213V have the speed and ability to make Honda HRC proud. These two pre-seasons test will be very important to prepare everything well for the start of the year, I am certain that all the Honda HRC engineers have been working diligently during the winter. There is no time to wait around, we need to be working from the first lap to achieve our maximum and return Honda HRC to where it belongs.”

Joan Mir

Milestone season for Honda

The 2026 campaign also marks a significant anniversary for Honda, celebrating 60 years since its debut in the premier class. From the RC181 in the 500 cc era to today’s RC213V, Honda’s record stands at 314 premier-class victories and more than 2300 podium finishes across all categories. Several commemorative initiatives are expected throughout the season.

Pre-season underway

Attention now turns to the first official pre-season test at Sepang from February 3–5, ahead of the season-opening round at Buriram, Thailand, on February 27–March 1. With concessions reset and a clearer development direction established in 2025, Honda will aim to confirm that its upward trajectory can continue into the new season.

2026 Honda RC213-V Images

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2026 MotoGP Dates