HRC president confirms riders at Brno

From the Honda Racing Team

Tetsuo Suzuki, the new HRC president and the managing director of Honda R&D met with the MotoGP media on Friday for the first time ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix of the Czech Republic.

During a press conference at the Brno circuit, Suzuki was able to confirm that HRC has come to a basic agreement with both Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso to continue riding in the factory Honda squad next season. The formal presentation of Pedrosa and Dovizioso as factory team riders will take place in due course, once the final details of the contracts are agreed.

“I understand that to announce this in August is much earlier compared to past years," he said. "Though there are still some details of the contracts to finalize, we are making this announcement now so that the riders and the team can remain fully concentrated on our joint goals: to win races and recapture the MotoGP World Championship. We are convinced these riders have the armoury required to win this ultimate prize.

“Dani and Andrea are highly motivated, and I believe they will strive in the last half of this season to get positive results. Both riders have been with Honda since their days in the 125cc class, and HRC will give our every effort to develop highly competitive machines for these two riders who possess the highest potential.”