With the 2015 MotoGP->ke1254 season set to kick off in Malaysia on February 4, 2015, teams are already gearing up to take the fight to the Repsol Honda->ke291 team and two-time defending champion Marc Marquez. One team that has set its sights on toppling the incumbents is Movistar Yamaha->ke301. Recently, the team officially launched its intention to return to the top of the mountain by revealing the new livery for the Yamaha YZR-M1.

The unveiling is important for a number of reasons. For one, Movistar Yamaha was pretty much the only team that challenged Honda last season. Its riders, Valentino Rossi->ke1462 and Jorge Lorenzo, finished second and third in the overall standings. Don’t think for one second that they’re entering the new season with the plan of sitting back and letting Marquez win his third straight MotoGP title.

As far as the livery itself is concerned, Movistar Yamaha opted to carry over a lot of the design details from last year’s M1 bike. The paint scheme is largely similar to last year’s model and the presence of the team’s sponsors continue to take up ample real estate space throughout the machine, specifically title sponsor Movistar, whose logo now appears larger and more prominent on the bike’s fairing. The similar “M” logo belonging to fellow sponsor Monster Energy still gets the same space just below the Movistar logo while new sponsors, including Abarth, Descentet, and Cromax, now have their logos represented in the new YZR-M1.

Rossi and Lorenzo’s respective YZR-M1 machines look about as ready to compete as any bike that has been unveiled ahead of the 2015 MotoGP season. Only time will tell if Movistar Yamaha has the thoroughbred to challenge Honda and Marquez this season. But at the very least, the team does have a bike that’s going to pop out on TV.

Click past the jump to read about Movistar Yamaha's chances ahead of the 2015 MotoGP season.

Why it matters

In the grand scheme of things, the team's livery doesn't really matter in determining whether Movistar Yamaha can finally unseat Repsol Honda’s recent dominance in MotoGP. Over the past two seasons, Yamaha has played the role bridesmaid to Honda.

Worse, both Rossi and Lorenzo have seen their bids to win the MotoGP riders’ title get shot to the ground because of Marquez and Honda.

With the 2015 MotoGP season on the horizon, the pressure is now on Rossi, Lorenzo, and Movistar Yamaha to finally take the fight to Repsol Honda and turn the tables on their rival’s recent dominance.

Whether it can is going to be decided over the course of the 2015 season. Bur for the sake of drama, I’m just hoping to see this season go down to the wire just like the 2013 MotoGP season.

With apologies to last season, of course, which ended up becoming Marquez’s personal showcase of dominance. So let's get the 2015 MotoGP season started, ladies and gentlemen!

This is the bike, the team, and the riders that are likely to give Repsol Honda the biggest challenge this season. Here's to hoping that they give the defending champions a lot of reason to to be worried about their own title campaign.