Written by Isha Reshmi Mohan, Edited by Rohan Brown
If you missed the first half of the livery launches, check out part one, where I rounded up all the launches that took place until January 25th, along with the discussions surrounding them. With six more teams unveiling their designs, here’s a look at the rest of the liveries in case you missed them.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech 3
Factory Riders: Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta
Tech 3 Riders: Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales
Both the KTM teams chose to hold their launches together, and made sure to avoid any discussion of their widely publicised financial issues from the off-season.
The bikes for both the Tech 3 and Factory teams are nearly identical, with the most noticeable difference being Tech 3's more vibrant shade of orange.
“Wow, this is a beast, it’s fast!”, Viñales said of the KTM RC16. With the Sepang test completed, Acosta shared his experience with the bike and expressed optimism about the season ahead.
He looks forward to the Buriram test and emphasises the importance of patience in the bike’s development and performance: “To be honest, we are still in the middle of the testing plan.
"After three days in Sepang, I see us at 60%. The trials in Thailand will be very important to finalise the package…You can't hope to discover America in two months.
“We are better than the screens show. If we are not higher up it is because of some mistake of mine.”
Monster Energy Yamaha
Riders: Alex Rins and Fabio Quartararo
With their livery launch held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Yamaha team showed off their blue bikes in line with the ‘Blue Shift’ theme. Quartararo mentions his excitement to try the bike at the launch:
"This time the first test is even more exciting for us because Yamaha is about to begin a big project together with Pramac. I know everyone is super eager to start working together … this in turn makes me even more motivated.
At the end of the Sepang test, Rins had mentioned about grip problems with the bike and couldn’t test the total potential of the bike from the test alone as it felt more like a ‘private test’ with the lack of action on track.
Prima Pramac Racing
Riders: Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira
Following Yamaha’s Blue shift theme, Prima Pramac added in blue elements to their purple bike in their livery launch. Jack Miller then spoke on his return to Pramac:
"Coming back to Pramac Racing after a few years is fantastic for me. You all know that I have a great relationship with Paolo Campinoti and he, as well as Gino and all the other guys, welcomed me back with open arms”
At the end of the Sepang test where the riders got to test out their bikes in a comparatively cooler environment on the last day, the team was happy to have familiarised themselves with the YZR-M1 bikes ahead of the pre-season test at Buriram.
Oliveira shared, “This first test of the season has been great. We leave Sepang with a lot of information, more experience, and good feelings. I am a bit disappointed because today I missed the lap time I was hoping to achieve by the end of the test.
Honda HRC Castrol
Riders: Joan Mir and Luca Marini
Hosting their livery launch in Indonesia, the Honda HRC team welcomed Castrol to their team and showcased their vibrant red bikes alongside Marini and Mir.
Following the Sepang test, Mir too mentions himself adjusting to the grip related issues:
“But we still have too many negative points, such as the engine and the lack of grip. The approach to racing and development is different between the European companies and the Japanese companies”, Romano Albesiano expressed at his first public appearance as Honda’s technical director.
“We have to be happy, I’m not satisfied yet because we certainly lack a lot.”, Marini shares. While the HRC team disagreed on the progression over the Sepang test session, the LCR team seemed to have had a better run down.
LCR Honda
Riders: Johann Zarco and Somkiat Chantra
With just a day to go before the Bangkok launch, the Honda LCR team unveiled their livery in Bangkok, Thailand, which also happens to be Chantra’s hometown.
The team opted for a split livery, with Johann Zarco riding a green and white bike in line with Castrol, while Somkiat will use an Idemitsu-sponsored red and white design, maintaining their commitment to supporting Asian talent.
Zarco finished the Sepang test in seventh place, with the team consistently emphasizing how they were gathering feedback and working on improvements throughout the three-day session.
At the end of the test, Zarco shared his goal of finishing in the Top 10 at Buriram: “But I'm sure we can fight for the top 10 from the first race, and that's one of my main goals at the moment."
Bangkok Launch
For the first time ever, MotoGP held its launch event in Thailand. With the season opener taking place in Buriram, the launch was hosted in the capital city, Bangkok.
The event, held at One Bangkok, was free for all attendees. Fans had the chance to watch all the riders arrive for the official announcement, followed by concerts featuring local artists.
The evening concluded with a red carpet walk, with riders dressed in suits before heading to the rooftop of the mall for an exclusive launch party, which the public could attend by purchasing tickets.
The event was live-streamed and kicked off with a video announcing MotoGP’s rebranding, followed by a montage of the riders at Wat Benjamaborpid earlier that day.
This footage showcased their participation in a "road show" and an official photoshoot, though Jorge Martín, Fabio Di Giannantonio, and Raúl Fernández were absent due to injuries sustained during the Sepang test. These injuries also put their participation in the upcoming Buriram test in doubt.
Between the road show and the launch, the riders attended media duties while officials prepared the bikes on stage. When the event began, it opened with a short interview session featuring all the team principals before moving on to the riders.
The initial plan was for each team’s two riders to make an entrance by taking a lap around One Bangkok before arriving at the event entrance, where fans awaited them near the stage. During this walk-up, they had the opportunity to greet fans and sign autographs before stepping on stage for a brief interview.
However, due to time constraints, this process was accelerated, with teams arriving while others were still speaking. Each team’s segment concluded with the riders revving their bikes on stage, giving fans a preview of their sound.
Some riders put on a show as they entered, performing burnouts and loud revs to excite the crowd. However, the event faced some technical difficulties from the start, with Honda HRC’s Joan Mir unable to start his bike. As a result, he rode to the event alongside his teammate, Luca Marini.
Despite these hiccups, the launch was definitely a success. It gave fans who couldn’t attend the Buriram race a chance to meet the riders and be part of something special, while also convincing some to make the trip to the races.
The riders have already left Bangkok to head to the circuit with the Buriram test kicking off in just a few days before the main opener at the end of the month.
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