New factory Honda MotoGP signing Luca Marini didn’t have to think for long when asked to pick a Repsol rider from the past who has inspired him th💟e most.

“My brother, it’s easy! He൲ ha🍸d a great history with these colours,” Marini told MotoGP.com during today’s Madrid team launch.

Valentino Rossi won the 2002 an🅘d ♈2003 MotoGP titles for Repsol Honda before switching to Yamaha.

But Marini’s second choice of inspiration was not a Repsol cham💧pion.

“For sure also Dani Pedrosa, who worked a loꦺt ꧒of time with this team,” Marini said.

“I like him a lot, he's a good guy and when we talk in the test♎ it's very interesting every time. So I will try to take some inspiration from him also.”

Pedrosa won 31 races as a Repsol Honda rider from 2006 to 2018, making hꦫim the most successfu🐬l premier-class competitor not to claim the world title.

Marini s𝔉teps into the rev🌠ised factory Honda colours, in place of Marc Marquez, for what will be his fourth premier-class season.

“It's like a childhood dream,” Marini said. “I'm really pleased to work with this factory, I think we made⛎ a good step forward in this test.

“Sure, we will have something more to do more in the Qatar test but we'll b𒅌e ready for the first race.

“It will be a long season, very interesting in my opinion. I want to arrive at a good level in the middle part of the season. I think we can improve🍷 a lot.

“There is a lot of margin on all the areas of the bike and ꦇalso I can adapt better to the bike.”

Marini feels the new colours also represent the sta❀rt of a new era.

"When I was a child, I always saw a lot of orange and a big Repsol logo, so it's something new. But also it represents the start of a new project, a new era of Honda, fꦐighting to come back 🐽on top."

Marini, whose Ducati experience is highly valued by HRC, was 19th in the opening Sepan꧙g test.&♊nbsp;

ౠThe final pre-seaso💦n test takes place in Qatar on Monday and Tuesday.