Honda Racing has revealed the colours Luca Marini and Joan Mir will race in 2026, with the Spanish rider immediately backing up the launch by topping day two of pre-season testing at Sepang.
The factory Honda squad unveiled its 2026 livery ahead of the first official test, maintaining the iconic HRC tricolore of red, white and blue alongside title partner Castrol’s branding.
In Honda’s words, red represents passion for racing, blue the quest for technical excellence, and white motorsports fans. The design also marks the continuation of Honda’s partnership with Castrol, now in its second year.
The livery reveal comes as Honda celebrates 60 years in the premier class, dating back to the 500cc RC181 that started a lineage leading to today’s 1000cc RC213V. Honda has accumulated 314 premier class wins and over 2300 podiums across all classes.
Marini and Mir are entering their third season together in the factory team, having shown steady progress throughout 2025. The Italian finished inside the top ten in all but two races during the second half of last season, while Mir secured podiums at Motegi and Malaysia.
Testing got underway immediately after the livery launch, with both riders sitting comfortably in the top ten on day one before Mir blitzed the field on Wednesday.
The 2020 world champion set a 1’56.874 on day two, 0.6 seconds faster than his Q2 time from the Malaysian GP a few months earlier. The laptime put him quickest overall as Honda continued development work on the RC213V.
Marini ended day one in sixth with a 1’57.569 before Wednesday’s rain limited his running. The Italian completed 1’57.550, 0.676s behind his teammate.
Both riders focused on evaluating new parts across the opening two days, with the factory pair completing 107 laps on day one before weather curtailed Wednesday afternoon’s programme.
Honda HRC Castrol will complete the final day of testing at Sepang before heading to Buriram for the second test and opening round. The Thai GP runs February 27-March 1.
The 2026 season marks the final year of competition for the 1000cc machines before new technical regulations arrive in 2027.
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