'I'm about to cry!' - Pol Espargaro gets Repsol Honda surprise

New Repsol Honda rider Pol Espargaro received a special surprise when, upon his return from training in the mountains of Andorra, he found an RC213V wearing his #44 waiting for him at home.

"I'm about to cry!" Espargaro said as he unveiled the bike in his garden. "Wow. I would never have guessed, this is crazy… I want to keep it here forever!"

"The number [44] looks great. I worked really hard to see this number here. It's amazing.

"This bike, with its colours, has always been the ultimate rival. It was our target."

Espargaro, 29, arrives at Repsol Honda after spending three MotoGP seasons at Tech3 Yamaha and then four years with KTM, culminating in a best-yet fifth place in the world championship and five podiums.

Now comes his biggest chance, riding for the factory Honda team that has won 20 500cc/MotoGP titles with Freddie Spencer, Wayne Gardner, Eddie Lawson, Mick Doohan, Alex Criville, Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner and Marc Marquez - most of them wearing the same Repsol colours Espargaro will campaign this season.

With his former KTM contract officially expiring on December 31, Espargaro was also able to put on his new team clothing for the first time:

"I dreamed about this moment so many times. To wear these colours and have this bike by my side. I will probably sleep wearing this today!

"Without a doubt, I will always remember this moment."

Crouching behind the screen of the RCV, the Spaniard reveals: "It's a bit narrower than I thought."

Espargaro, replacing Alex Marquez as team-mate to six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, is due to make his Repsol Honda track debut during the opening pre-season test of the year, at Sepang in Malaysia on February 19-21.

With Marc Marquez sidelined by a fractured arm, 2020 saw Honda experience its first winless premier-class season since 1981.