Marquez and Pedrosa ride MotoGP machine in Indonesia for first time
Earlier this week, 2014 MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez and teammate Dani Pedrosa visited Jakarta on their way to Malaysia for round seventeen of the World Championship. On Monday, they were guests of Trans 7′s TV show ‘Hitam Putih”, then yesterday they broke history after riding a MotoGP machine for the first time in Indonesia at the Sentul Circuit, Bogor. Watched by thousands of fans, the two Repsol Honda Riders also took to the circuit on the latest sports motorcycle of PT Astra Honda Motor (AHM), the Honda CBR150R.
AHM gave this unique opportunity for the Indonesian people to come and meet the MotoGP riders and in accordance with the spirit of One Heart / Satu Hati to help them realise their greatest dreams. This is the first visit for Marc Marquez to Indonesia, and also the first time he and teammate Dani Pedrosa have ridden in front of their Indonesian fans at the home of Indonesian Motorsport in Sentul, with local riders and loyal Honda customers in attendance – as a part of the Honda CBR Community Events Scheme.
AHM ran two promotions for 300 loyal Honda customers to meet the MotoGP riders. 150 were chosen through an online promotion for customers who ordered the latest CBR150R online from September 5th-19th, and the other 150 were chosen by random after purchasing Honda sports motorcycles – Honda CB150R StreetFire, Honda Verza 150, or Honda MegaPro FI in the period from September 8th-30th.
Marketing Director of AHM, Margono Tanuwijaya, commented “In the spirit of One Heart / Satu Hati, the company continuously conducts many efforts to encourage Indonesian people to make their dreams become a reality. Through our sponsorship of the MotoGP World Champions – the Repsol Honda Team – we inspire them to aim high and reassure them that they can reach their dreams. The Indonesian people embrace MotoGP and Honda motorcycles whole heartedly and today we endeavoured to combine these affections by offering the chance for our loyal Honda clients to ride a Honda CBR150R alongside newly crowned MotoGP World Champion, Marc Marquez, and teammate Dani Pedrosa. We believe it will strengthen the bond between Honda and our customers with the spirit of One Heart / Satu Hati.”
World Champion Marc Marquez enjoyed the experience remarking, “It was great to ride in front of all the Indonesian fans and give them the opportunity to hear a MotoGP bike in the home circuit! We have many fans here in Indonesia and we really appreciate all their support. Hopefully we can come back again soon!”. Dani Pedrosa echoed his teammates enthusiasm, “The passion here for MotoGP is really something else! We feel it through all the social media interactions we have but to witness it first hand and have the chance to ride our Honda here in Sentul was really something special! Thank you to all of you who came to see us!”.
Besides the main event, the spectators were also entertained by an exhibition race of Honda CBR150R, a Honda Stunt Rider show, and the performance of Honda Ladies show.