Demonstrating the performance and (hopefully) superiority of one’s products is one of the reasons why some carmakers enter motorsport competition. It is expensive and when you participate at the highest levels, it can be very expensive and sustaining such activity over a long period is hard to justify. So apart from companies like Ferrari which has been in Formula 1 since 1950, most companies come and go in the motorsports arena.
Honda’s founder loved motorsports
For Honda, however, it is different and motorsports are a part of the carmaker’s DNA. The founder of the company, Soichiro Honda, was very much a motorsports enthusiast and right from the time he began his company in 1948, he wanted to go racing.
“My childhood dream was to be a motorsport World Champion with a machine built by myself. I here avowed my definite intention that I will participate in the TT races and I proclaim with my fellow employees that I will pour in all my energy and creative powers to win!” declared Honda-san in 1954.
Within 5 years, Honda entered the prestigious Isle of Man TT for the very first time. And within just 2 years – a blink of an eye by racing development standards – Honda captured its first World GP race. Almost 40 years later, the company would register its 500th GP victory, an achievement far surpassing that of every other motorcycle manufacturer in the world.
First Japanese carmaker in F1
Even on four wheels, Honda made an impact by being the first Japanese carmaker to enter Formula racing events. In 1966, Honda-powered cars won the Formula 1 and Formula 2 GP Championships, and then taking a break before returning to F1 in the 1980s. By 1992, it had won 71 races and had 6 Constructor’s titles to its name, along with 5 Driver’s titles.
In America too, Honda set its sights on the racing scene, mainly in CART IndyCar events (it was already very well known in motorcycle events). Following a brief start-up period, Honda captured its first race win in 1995, then went on to dominate the sport with 5 consecutive Driver’s Championships by the close of the 2000 season.
Motorsports experience helps R&D
Honda-san not only loved motorsports but he also saw participation as being valuable for making his products better. The racing world is a high-pressured environment with extreme demands on machinery so engineers have to work fast and smart to find solutions to win races. What they learn is fed back to R&D which can use the solutions for cars sold to the public – like the Civic Type R.
Honda’s success is often attributed to being led by engineers (as opposed to finance people in many other carmakers) and many of its leaders spent time as engineers with racing teams in their earlier years. So it’s no surprise that motorsports participation is so strongly embedded in the company and will now be take to a new level.
Combining expertise and resources
Honda Performance Development (HPD) in the USA will become Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US) and this is more than just a change of name. With this change, HRC US will play an integral role in Honda’s global motorsports activities, which includes contributing to the company’s F1 program.
Collaborating as one global HRC entity from the 2024 motorsports season, the two independent racing arms of Honda will combine their expertise and resources to strengthen Honda’s overall motorsports capabilities.
“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,” said Koji Watanabe, President of HRC Japan. “Our race engineers in the USA and Japan will be stronger together and I am so happy to welcome our US associates to the HRC team.”
HRC was established in Japan in 1982 as Honda’s motorcycle racing arm, and is recognized for more than 40 years of championship racing heritage in pinnacle global racing categories. While its presence has been more prominent in motorcycle racing, HRC has also been active in car racing, with Honda’s F1 program as part of its responsibilities.
HRC’s auto racing development centre in Japan currently supports Red Bull Powertrains for F1 power units, helping the team to win world championships. Starting in 2026, HRC will partner with the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 team as the official engine supplier. With three F1 races now in the USA, the new HRC US will be involved in F1 power unit development and race support starting in 2026.
HPD was established by American Honda Motor in 1993, as a separate racing arm to compete in the IndyCar series. For 30 years, HPD has competed in various racing series including IndyCar, IMSA, Baja Off-Road, Touring Cars, and Formula Regional America.
Through HPD, Honda has 280 wins from 510 races in IndyCar competition, including 180 wins from 410 events with multi-manufacturer competitions. The brand has won 13 Drivers’ Championships and 10 Manufacturers’ Championships in years with multi-manufacturer competition.
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