The Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) announced that the Repsol Honda Team will continue its successful partnership with Michelin for the next season of MotoGP. Michelin and Honda have collaborated in the esteemed motorcycle racing since 1982, during which time they have won 14 riders world championships and recorded 193 race wins.
The first race win of this longstanding alliance came in 1982 with Freddie Spencer at the Belgian Grand Prix and the most recent was Dani Pedrosa's great victory at the Grand Prix of Valencia on Sunday.
"I'm very satisfied with this deal with Michelin because they have a great deal of experience and technical skill and I'm confident they can supply us with race-winning tyres next year. The situation this year has been complicated for many reasons, and sometimes our performance has not been up to the level we expected," said Pedrosa. "Michelin has a long racing history with Honda and I believe this partnership can once again create the success we all want. I'm happy to show that we have full confidence in Michelin at this important time in MotoGP."
"I'm really happy to be joining up with Michelin again next year. They were a key part in achieving my World Championship last year so they've got a really special place in my heart. Honda has a long history with Michelin and I think we can work hard this winter during testing and get back to winning ways in 2008. I know they're not going to take the events of this season lightly, they want to come back strong and I'm convinced they can help us take the fight to our rivals. It won't be easy, but Michelin is a great company," added Nicky Hayden of Repsol Honda.
After a tough 2007 MotoGP season, both Honda and Michelin are determined that this new agreement will form the foundation of further success. The team will continue enhancing Honda racing parts and Michelin will stay as a reliable ally.
Frederic Henry-Biabaud, the director of Michelin Group Motorsport Division, has this to say: "We at Michelin are honoured and proud to continue this very successful partnership with Repsol Honda, with whom we have won eight world championships since 1995. And we are committed to achieving victory in 2008 through very close, intense and technological collaboration."
"Honda believes MotoGP is an arena for supreme competition and also the place where ultimate collaboration between people and technology can be achieved. We believe we must have mutual respect in this world of supremacy in order to retain our dignity and to succeed. This year the Repsol Honda Team and Michelin have been defeated. So now we must strive to return to the winner's circle where we belong. We believe next year is the year we will do this. We are determined to fight back with all our might and dignity in order to win back the title," concluded HRC President Masumi Hamane.
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