Honda Racing Corporation USA

Founded in 1993 and located in Santa Clarita, California, Honda Performance Development (HPD) is the technical operations center for Honda and Acura’s high-performance racing activities in North America.

HPD oversees Acura Motorsports’ efforts in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, featuring the 2019-2020 championship-winning Acura ARX-05 prototype; defending GTD champion Acura NSX GT3; and Honda Civic Type R customer racing efforts in IMSA’s MICHELIN Pilot Challenge series. HPD’s sports car racing effort have resulted in more than 100 race victories and multiple manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships in both prototype and GT racing.

The company’s modern-era sports car program ran under the Acura Motorsports banner from 2007-09, and as HPD and Honda from 2010-16. HPD then spearheaded Acura’s return to endurance sports car racing in 2017, culminating in the DPi Manufacturer, Driver and Team championships in 2019-20 for Acura Team Penske with the Acura ARX-05; and Meyer’ Shank Racing’s GTD driver and team titles with the Acura NSX GT3, followed by a clean sweep of Manufacturer, Driver and Team championship in 2020.

The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge features sports cars that are closely identifiable with those seen on the street, such as coupes, hatchbacks and sedans. Two classes make up this series – GS, the highest performing class and the intermediate TCR class.