Honda’s two distinct racing divisions will cooperate as one worldwide group, pooling their respective sources and experience to enhance Honda’s total motorsports capabilities, starting with the 2024 racing season.
Honda Performance Development (HPD) in Santa Clarita, California, and Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) in Sakura, Japan, collectively mentioned at the moment that HPD will formally change its identify to Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US), as HRC US turns into a vital half in Honda’s worldwide motorsports endeavors, together with its F1 program.
“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,” mentioned Koji Watanabe, the 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.”
Honda’s American racing arm
In order to take part within the IndyCar collection, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. created HPD as a separate racing division in 1993. IndyCar, IMSA, Baja Off-Road, Touring Cars, and Formula Regional America are only a few of the racing classes that HPD has participated in throughout the previous three many years.
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Through HPD, Honda has achieved 280 victories in 510 IndyCar races, together with 15 Indianapolis 500 victories, 13 Drivers’ Championships and 10 Manufacturers’ Championships. Not to be disregarded, Acura achieved three consecutive wins within the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and three IMSA Manufacturers’, Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships since 2018.
“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 U.S.,” mentioned David Salters, president of HPD, who will change into president of the brand new HRC U.S. “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.”
Honda’s Japanese racing arm
As the bike racing division of Honda, HRC was based in Japan in 1982. With greater than 40 years of championship racing historical past, its participated in worldwide racing occasions just like the Paris Dakar rally, Superbike, Motocross, and WGP/MotoGP. Honda’s F1 program and auto racing have been added to HRC’s tasks in 2022, with the automaker’s Sakura Center dedicated to car racing and the Asaka Center concentrating on bike racing.
The new HRC US will compete for the primary time on the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona, slated for January 27–28. The defending champion Acura ARX–06 prototypes will show HRC logos on their racing liveries.
Source: www.thedetroitbureau.com