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From our series of Open Editions based on the beauty of motorcycle racing Technology, Vapor shows a close up of a Honda RC213V exhaust right out of the shipping crate from Japan. At the Valencia test that began the 2015 season, Marc Marquez’ test bike was uncrated and rolled into the Repsol Honda box beneath a black cover. The 2015 bike comprised many shiny, unused components including the exhaust section shown here.

When warmed up for the first time in the Valencia pit lane, whatever solution had been used to protect the metal en route to Spain began to heat up and burn off. The colors in the metal pipes emerged from a previously uniform silver and the vapor accompanied an odor that was, to me at least, unfamiliar in the MotoGP pit lane.

This was the first and only time I seen this happen to this degree. Many times I’ve seen smoke from various fluids rise off the bikes as mechanics warm them up, but I’ve never seen this much smoke from a brand new bike being warmed to operating temperature for its maiden run. I’m very pleased to have captured the moment in this photograph.