HRC US, which stands for Honda Racing Corporation US, will work with the company’s motorsports arm in Japan to run all of Honda’s racing projects around the world starting on January 1. This is a significant change from how things have been for a long time. HRC has been in charge of Japan and the rest of the world, while Honda Performance Development has been in cost of racing in North America. The new agreement removed some of the bureaucratic hurdles that HPD had to overcome to compete on a global scale. This makes it possible for both teams to return to the FIA World Endurance Championship and, as a result, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. During a roundtable with the media, HPD President Dave Salters said, “We [HPD] have been asked to contribute to global motorsport.” We’re excited about what could happen in F1 and WEC, but nothing is set in stone yet. We will tell everyone in the world about Honda and Acura. HPD’s IMSA race-winning ARX-06 couldn’t join BMW, Cadillac, and Porsche at Le Mans because Acura had to “focus on the US,” and Honda had to “make the decision” about other markets like Europe, Japan, and so on. By bringing the two groups together, the new global HRC has more than enough means to produce a winner in both the WEC and the Le Mans race. Most of Red Bull Racing’s success in Japan can be attributed to HRC. On this side of the Atlantic, HPD’s dominance in IMSA and IndyCar made for a well-rounded team. Salters, who used to work for Ferrari and McLaren in Formula One, says that putting a Hypercar in the WEC in 2024 is impossible. Salters said, “We don’t have a time frame right now, but we’re giving it much thought.” We might wait to do something in 2024. That’s way too early. In 1982, HRC was made to help Honda compete in the World Grand Prix, which later changed its name to MotoGP. This was expanded to include Supercross, World Trial, the Paris-Dakar Rally, Superbike, and Formula One, where it has recently done very well. HPD, on the other hand, was started in 1993 to support all types of Indy racing and Acura’s motorsport goals. Since then, it has grown to include IMSA, Baja, and other racing categories.
