Honda Performance Development rebrands as Honda Racing Corporation USA

MANILA: Starting in the 2024 motorsports season, Honda Performance Development (HPD) will be formally known as Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US).

This was jointly announced by HPD and Honda Racing Corporation (HRC). The change marks the beginning of HRC US’ vital role in Honda’s global motorsports endeavors, including assisting with the Formula One (F1) program.

HRC, founded in Japan in 1982, is the motorcycle racing arm of Honda. It is renowned for its more than four decades of championship racing history in prestigious global racing events like the WGP/MotoGP, Superbike, Motocross, World Trial and the Paris Dakar rally. In 2022, HRC added auto racing including Honda’s F1 program to its activities.

Meanwhile, HPD was created by American Honda Motor Corporation Incorporated as a separate racing division in 1993. Over the past three decades, HPD has participated in various racing categories such as IndyCar, IMSA, Baja Off-Road, Touring Cars, and Formula Regional America.

Through HPD, Honda has achieved 280 victories from 510 IndyCar races, including 180 victories from 410 multi-manufacturer competitions. At the Indianapolis 500, Honda has fifteen wins, nine of them in multi-manufacturer competition.

Honda has also won 10 Manufacturers' Championships and 13 Drivers' Championships in years with multi-manufacturer competition. HPD also directed the Acura brand to three IMSA Manufacturers', Drivers', and Teams' Championships since 2018, along with three consecutive  victories in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“Honda’s racing heritage is unparalleled and over the last 30 years and the talented men and women of HPD have contributed to that success in the US. We are thrilled and very proud to join forces with our friends and colleagues in HRC Japan and represent Honda Racing as a global racing organization. We will continue to challenge ourselves in US motorsports activities even as we develop our people and technology to compete on a rapidly changing global motorsports stage,” HPD President David Salters stated.

HRC’s auto racing development center in Japan currently supplies Red Bull Powertrains for F1 power units. HRC will be working together with the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 team as the official engine provider beginning in 2026. The new HRC US will be involved in F1 power unit development and race support starting in the same year, when there will be three F1 races held in the US.

“Our goal is to increase the HRC brand and sustain the success of our racing activities and we believe that uniting Honda motorsports globally as one racing organization will help achieve that. Our race engineers in the US and Japan will be stronger together and I am so happy to welcome our US associates to the HRC team,” HRC Japan President Koji Watanabe said.

The new HRC US’ first racing event will be the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona, slated for January 27 to 28, 2024. The reigning champ Acura ARX-06 prototypes will feature HRC logos on their racing liveries.

Photos from Honda Racing Corporation

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