Initially, Honda's racing efforts were run from within the company. In 1973, the Racing Service Center (RSC) was created as a separate company involved in motorcycle racing. On 1 September 1982, the NR block and RSC were merged to form Honda Racing Corporation, which would be responsible for all of Honda's motorcycle racing programmes. Shoichiro Irimajiri was appointed as the first president. By making HRC a separate company specialising in racing, the company was able to achieve continuous racing activities that were less dependent on the performance of the head office.
On 1 April 2022, Honda's automobile racing activities were integrated into HRC's scope of work. As part of the integration, Honda's four-wheel motorsport development base HRD Sakura (a division of Honda R&D) was transferred to HRC and renamed HRC Sakura. The motorcycle division will remain based in Asaka, Saitama, while HRC Sakura (based in Sakura, Tochigi) will act as the automobile division. In line with this, HRC will also be responsible for Honda's Formula One operations.
In December 2023, Honda's North American motorsport subsidiary, Honda Performance Development (HPD), became Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US). With this change, the two independent motorsport subsidiaries will work together as one global HRC entity. In February 2024, a local subsidiary, HRC UK, was established in the United Kingdom as the European base for the return to F1 from 2026 onwards.
HRC has been competing in Grand Prix motorcycle racing since the company's inception, winning over 20 constructors' titles in the premier class. It has also been involved in Formula One as a power unit manufacturer since 2022. In 2023, the Honda RBPTH001 unit claimed 21 wins in 22 races. In February 2023, the FIA confirmed that Honda, through HRC, would be a power unit manufacturer for the new regulations in 2026.
HRC is currently competing in the premier class of MotoGP as Honda HRC Castrol. It also supplied engines to the Moto2 class as a designated supplier until 2018. In 2019, works backing returned for the Superbike World Championship with full support for the Moriwaki Althea Honda Team. 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.
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). From 2026, HRC will enter into a works contract with the Aston Martin F1 team to supply power units. HRC has participated in Super Formula since 2022, when it took over the engine programme previously carried out by HRD Sakura. The GT500 class Super GT project was transferred from HRD Sakura to HRC in 2022. In 2022, HRC took over the NSX GT3 project and continued to offer the car to customer racing teams.
HRC serves as a research platform for Honda’s carbon neutrality initiatives, specifically in the development of sustainable propulsion. The company utilizes the Super Taikyu Series in Japan to test carbon-neutral fuels (CNF) through the Civic Type R CNF-R project. In 2024, HRC's research contributed to the commencement of mass production for new fuel cell systems in Ohio, a joint venture with General Motors. These technical applications also extend to aerospace; in 2025, a HondaJet completed a test flight using a 100% blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). HRC is involved in a joint project with Astrobotic Technology to develop power solutions for lunar surface missions.
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