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 t🎃he most.

“My brother, it’s easy! He had a great history with these colours,” Marini told MotoGP.com during today’s Madr🦹id team lau𓄧nch.

Valentino Rossi won the 2002 and 2003 Mo꧂toGP titles for Repsol Honda before switching to Yamaha.

But M✤arini’s second choice of inspiration was not a Repsol champion.

“For sure also Dani ꧙Pedrosa, who worked a lot of time with this team,” Marini said.

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

Pedrosa won 31 races as🃏 a Repsol Honda rider from 2006 to 2018, making him the most successful premier-class competitor not to claim the world title.

Marini steps into the revised fact💮ory Honda colours, in place of Marc Marquez, for wha๊t 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 thin💯k we made a good step forward in this test.

“Sure, we will have something more to do more in the Qatar te🍷st but we'll be ready for 💧the first race.

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

“There is a lot of margi𓂃n on all the areas of the bike and also I can adapt ܫbetter to the bike.”

Marini feels the new colours alꦑso represent🥂 the start of a new era.

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

M💜arini, whose Ducati experience is highly valued by HRC, was 19th in the opening Sepang test. 

The final pre-season test takes🌸 place in Qatar on Monday and Tuesday.