Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), also known as Honda Racing, is a motorsport subsidiary of the Honda Motor Company formed in 1982.[3] From its founding, the company was initially solely responsible for Honda's motorcycle racing activities, before the brand's automobile racing activities were integrated into HRC's scope of work on 1 April 2022.[4] The company combines participation in motorcycle races throughout the world with the development of racing machines. Its racing activities are an important source for the creation of technologies used in the development of Honda motorcycles. HRC activities include sales of production racing motorcycles, support for satellite teams, and rider education programs.
In February 2023, the FIA confirmed that Honda, through HRC, is provisionally listed as a power unit manufacturer for 2026.[5]
History
Initially, Honda's racing efforts were run from within the company. In the early 1970s, the Racing Service Center (RSC) was created as a separate company to oversee racing. On September 1, 1982, RSC became HRC, and ran Honda's road racing, endurance, trials and motocross racing programs.
HRC is currently competing in the premier class of MotoGP as Repsol Honda. It also supplied engines to the Moto2 class as a designated supplier until 2018. In addition, it supplies works-specification vehicles to Honda customer teams in the Moto3 class.
HRC competed as a works team in the Superbike World Championship under the Castrol Honda banner until the end of 2002. After that, other teams continued racing with Honda bikes. In 2019, the works backing returned for the first time in 17 years, with full support for the Moriwaki Althea Honda Team, a joint team of Moriwaki Engineering and Italy's Althea Racing. It was also announced that in 2020, HRC itself will organise and enter a works team for the first time in 18 years.
From 2007, HRC resumed activities in the JSB1000 class of the All Japan Road Race Championship, which continued until 2019, and from 2020 onwards it will concentrate on kit development for Honda teams. The team competed in the Superbike (SB) class until 2002 and in GP250 until 1999, with the exception of 1996.
From 2018, the HRC resumed its activities as a works team in the Suzuka 8 Hours for the first time in 10 years, winning the event in 2022. Eight of Honda's 10 consecutive victories in the event, which lasted from 1997 to 2006, were by HRC; from 1998 to 2006, the main sponsor was a tobacco brand (Lucky Strike in 1998 and 1999, Cabin in 2000–2002 and Seven Star in 2003–2006). The company continued to provide machines and support to private teams.
Honda won its first title in the 500cc class of the Motocross World Championship in 1979. Since then, the manufacturer has won 39 riders' titles and is still competing.
Honda won its first title in the 250cc class of AMA Motocross in 1973 when it debuted in the motocross market with the two-stroke engine CR250M. It has continued to compete in AMA Motocross ever since.
All Japan Motocross Championship (JMX)
Team HRC ceased to compete as a works team in the All Japan Motocross Championship from 2020, but it will continue to support privateers.
HRC is currently competing in the Trial World Championship. It has a technical alliance with Spanish motorcycle manufacturer Montesa, with the works team entry named Repsol Montesa HRC.
At the request of Honda France, which was competing in the Dakar Rally, the team was provided with a modified XR500R machine from 1982. Cyril Neveu won the Dakar Rally that year. In 1986, the NXR750, a prototype machine with a liquid-cooled V-twin engine, was launched and won the rally four times in a row until 1989. In 1995, the team sent in a 400cc single-cylinder EXP-2 as an experimental machine with a two-stroke engine, which finished fifth overall and won the event in the under-500cc class. The company continued to provide support to riders on Honda vehicles, but in 2013 it returned as a works team for the first time in 24 years with the CRF450 Rally, which won the Cross-Country Rallies World Championship that year. In 2020, its eighth year back in the Dakar, HRC won the event overall for the first time in 31 years, and it repeated the feat the following year in 2021. In the World Rally-Raid Championship, which was created in 2022, HRC won the manufacturers' title in 2022 and 2023.
Originating as a project of Honda's North American subsidiary, the Baja 1000 desert race has been dominated by Honda since the late 1990s (in part due to the lack of rival works bikes), winning 17 consecutive events between 1997 and 2013.
HRC's involvement in Formula One began in 2022, when it started supplying power units to Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri through Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT). The power units were previously developed and manufactured by the Honda Motor Company itself. In 2022, they were badged as RBPT units, and from 2023 they will be known as Honda RBPT units. HRC will continue to manufacture, assemble and supply the current power units until the end of 2025. From 2026, HRC will enter into a works contract with the Aston Martin F1 team to supply power units; HRC will be responsible for the development of the F1 power units and for race entry and management on the Honda side.
Other
HRC has also taken over the domestic Japanese motorsport activities previously carried out by HRD Sakura, such as the development of the NSX and Civic Type R cars in the GT500 class of Super GT, and the supply of engines to Super Formula. HRC also participate in the Super Taikyu championship.
Research and development
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User support
HRC has HRC Service Shops at 23 locations in Japan and seven sites overseas.
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