The Slovenian manufacturer Akrapovič has signed a new technical partnership with Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) to become the official exhaust supplier for the Repsol Honda team in MotoGP, the elite class of motorcycle racing, from 2023.

The companies agreed multi-year cooperation and will use advanced technology and engineering solutions to upgrade the exhaust system for Honda motorcycles in a bid to build on what is already a long list of joint racing successes, Akrapovič announced on 16 January.

Akrapovič has been manufacturing motorcycle exhausts since 1991 and has a long track record of achievements in MotoGP, World Superbike, MXGP, EWC and other championships. It won its first World Championship title when US racer Colin Edwards took the World Superbike crown in 2000 on the Honda RC51.

"We are pleased to welcome Akrapovič as a new technical partner for the 2023 season and beyond. Akrapovič have an impressive record in a variety of racing formats and it is there, like Honda, where they have developed their technical knowledge," Tetsuhiro Kuwata, HRC director, was quoted as saying.

"Expanding our cooperation with Honda Racing Corporation to MotoGP is a great honour and a further step in our partnership, which has already seen two WorldSBK world championship titles and several victories at the Suzuka 8 Hours," said Slavko Alojz Trstenjak, head of Akrapovič Racing R&D.

"We are pleased that the Repsol Honda Team has identified Akrapovič, which has over twenty years of experience in premier class racing bikes, as a highly capable technical partner to work together with in developing an exhaust system for the RC213V," Trstenjak added.

The company was founded in 1991 by Igor Akrapovič, a former motorcycle racer. It has won international recognition by successfully supporting leading teams in motorcycle racing. Using Akrapovič's exhaust systems, more than 160 world champions on two and four wheels have won their titles.