It was announced on Thursday that Honda Performance Development, the motorsport arm of American Honda Motor Co. based out of Santa Clarita in California, will join Japan’s Honda Racing Corporation to become HRC US.
The aim is for one global HRC entity to boast combined expertise as Honda re-enters Formula 1 in 2026 with Aston Martin. With three F1 races now held in America – in Austin, Miami and Las Vegas – the rebranded HRC US will also be involved in F1 power unit development and race support from 2026.
HPD was established in 1993 to produce engines for the IndyCar Series, and has gone on to claim 280 race wins from 510 races, including 15 victories in the Indianapolis 500.
In recent years, it has expanded its operations to include IMSA SportsCar Championship competition, scoring three IMSA manufacturers’, drivers’ and teams’ titles since 2018 and three consecutive Daytona 24 Hours victories.
The collaboration with HRC in Japan means that HPD’s programme with the Acura ARX-06, which runs in the GTP class in IMSA, will have a smoother pathway to becoming a Honda or Acura WEC and Le Mans project.
Along with its works team, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Global, that points to a potential programme outside of the U.S. in 2025, which had been a barrier under the previous set-up due to HPD’s limited remit inside North America.
“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 organisation will help achieve that,” said Koji Watanabe, president of HRC Japan.
“Our race engineers in the U.S. and Japan will be stronger together and I am so happy to welcome our U.S. associates to the HRC team.”
Source: Autosport