Honda Racing Corporation will change its top management on 1 January 2027, when Keiichi Yasuda becomes President and CEO. Koji Watanabe will step down at the end of 2026, having led HRC since 2022 and overseen a major expansion and integration of Honda’s global motorsport operations.

Yasuda is already part of HRC’s senior leadership, serving as Executive Vice President and Representative Director since April 2026. His career with Honda began in 1990 in the Human Resources division, before taking him into management roles at Honda of America Mfg. in the United States, Honda Motor India and Asian Honda Motor in Thailand. He later became President and CEO of Boon Siew Honda in Malaysia, as well as President Director of Astra Honda Motor in Indonesia.

In 2023, Yasuda became Operating Officer and Head of the Human Resources Unit at Honda Motor Co. His responsibilities included the transformation of Honda’s human-resources systems, talent-development strategy and management of human capital across the group. That combination of overseas subsidiary leadership and group-wide organisational experience will now be applied to HRC’s next phase.

The organisation Watanabe leaves behind

Watanabe’s tenure began with a significant restructuring of Honda’s racing activities. Motorcycle and car motorsport were brought together under a single HRC structure, creating a broader organisation with responsibility for Honda’s international racing presence. The period also included preparations for Honda’s return to Formula 1, the reorganisation of HPD in the United States as HRC US, and the establishment of HRC UK.

Watanabe described the integration of Honda’s car-racing activities and the consolidation of motorcycle and car motorsport in 2022 as central parts of his time in office. He also pointed to the Formula 1 programme and the creation of HRC US and HRC UK as steps that expanded the company’s global structure and strengthened the HRC brand. Until his departure, he says he will continue working towards victory during the final three months of his tenure.

Honda presents the succession as part of a planned cycle of management changes. The stated objectives are to reinforce HRC’s management structure, adapt it to global developments and accelerate business growth for the next generation of motorsport. In practical terms, the change comes as HRC combines motorcycle racing, car racing and international operations within one increasingly global framework.

Yasuda says his priority will be to preserve the foundation created under Watanabe while developing it further. He intends to bring HRC’s employees together around the goal of winning races, invest in its people and strengthen its organisation. He also wants the company’s future challenges to inspire Honda’s partners, employees and motorsport supporters, while continuing to deliver the technology, intensity and excitement associated with Honda’s racing activities.