MotoGP: Rea rates the Repsol Honda riders

MCN has recruited the help of double and reigning World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea for this year’s MotoGP preview, to get some real expert opinion from a man who’s not only at the top of his game but who’s also raced against and knows personally many of the MotoGP field.

To hear everything that he had to say about the field, pick up this week’s MCN complete with it’s free 32-page season guide!

Marc Marquez

Marc without doubt makes the Honda look much better than it really is, and I’m not sure what his salary is but for me he’s worth even more. If you take Cal’s few podium visits out of the equation, he’s been the guy that’s held Honda up pretty much since Casey left.

I really like him, but I’m not exactly sure how well he managed the championship last year because it seems like last year he had a lot of near misses. He’s like a cat – you can throw him up in the air and he always lands on his feet! But I’ve been riding with him this winter – and even how he practices on a motocross bike is how he races – he rides at a fast pace and has huge concentration levels for thirty minutes at the time.

He’s the most prepared he’s ever been, but he needs to manage everything even better this year. I’m not sure how much, but it seems like Honda have made a step forward this year, and they can relax a little knowing Marc is on the bike. That might just be enough, because he is exceptionally special. He’s one of a kind.

Dani Pedrosa

I’m not sure exactly what to say about Dani – because if any one deserves a MotoGP title and doesn’t have one it’s him. He’s been there at the very front for a decade, but right now he’s playing the number two guy at Honda to Marc and doing an incredible job of it. I’m not exactly sure if he has everything in place to fight for a championship (or even the top three of one) but he’s got two or three tracks a season where he can win at. I’m not sure has the pace to beat Marc, Valentino or Maverick over a season though.

I’m definitely Team D-Ped when it comes to supporting riders though! He’s a super-nice guy and when I filled in for Casey at Repsol Honda all those years ago he was really helpful and nice to me, and I’ve always liked to see him doing well since.