Last June, we explained why Honda Racing Corporation had not committed to the Le Mans 24 Hours despite having a car that fully complies with the LMDh technical regulations.
This was all the more puzzling given that the Acura ARX-06 has proven to be an excellent car in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, winning the 2023 Daytona 24 Hours, the 2023 Petit Le Mans and the 2024 Sebring 12 Hours.
But according to information gathered by The Race, Honda Racing Corporation has never been closer to returning to the top class of the World Endurance Championship, with a final decision expected to be taken in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here is what we know.
What has changed since the creation of HRC US?
At the end of 2023, when Honda Performance Development merged with Honda Racing Corporation to create a single global Honda motorsport organisation, a potential WEC Hypercar programme was discussed for the first time.
“Our goal is to increase the HRC brand and sustain the success of our racing activities, and we believe that uniting Honda motorsports globally as one racing organisation will help achieve that,” said HRC Japan president Koji Watanabe at the time.
“We need to look at the WEC,” added HRC US president David Salters. “We have an amazing ARX-06. ORECA have done a stunning job, and our race teams have done a stunning job. We were smitten with our ARX-06. And of course, it’s eligible to go to WEC.”
Just over a year later, in March, with no tangible progress in sight, The Race once again questioned Salters on the subject during the Sebring 12 Hours.
“The WEC is growing and growing, and who doesn’t want to do the Le Mans 24 Hours?” he replied.
Since then, we understand that several major racing teams have attempted to convince HRC to commit to the World Endurance Championship. Until recently, however, all of those efforts had failed.
Has a deal finally been found?
HRC has consistently said it would not make the jump until an LMDh car proved itself by winning Le Mans.
Moreover, several months ago, Koji Watanabe made it clear that Honda’s priorities lay in Formula 1 and MotoGP. But the design of the Honda RA626H V6 engine, which will power the Aston Martin AMR26 F1 car, is now complete, and the car even made its first on-track appearance on Thursday at Barcelona.
HRC has no intention of funding an entire WEC programme on its own. The structure would therefore be broadly similar to the current IMSA arrangement, although the chosen partner team would certainly contribute more than Meyer Shank Racing does today and more than those that had previously expressed interest in this WEC programme.
The Race understands that Inter Europol Competition - LMP2 winner at Le Mans in 2023 and ‘25 and IMSA class champion in 2024 - is poised to pair up with Honda on the WEC project.
As in IMSA, one car could be run directly by Honda Racing Corporation, with a second operated by the partner team. And this could happen as early as 2027. Such a structure would also open the door to an additional ARX-06 entry at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Coincidence or not, a large HRC Japan delegation, led by Koji Watanabe himself, was present at the Daytona 24 Hours last week. Unfortunately, the best-placed Acura ARX-06 could only finish fifth after starting from pole.
That car was the #93, driven by Alex Palou, Nick Yelloly, Renger van der Zande and Kaku Ohta – the very entry fully run by HRC US.
At the time of writing, no agreement has been signed and caution remains necessary, especially given that all previous negotiations have ultimately failed. But there are active discussions behind the scenes.
Following in HPD's footsteps
Should the project come to fruition, the ARX-06 would become the first Honda to compete in the WEC’s top category since 2013. In that scenario, the entry would almost certainly run under the Honda name, as Acura is a brand sold almost exclusively in North America.
Back in 2013, the HPD ARX-03c fielded by Strakka Racing contested the first three rounds of the WEC season before the programme ended after the Le Mans 24 Hours.
It marked the conclusion of a two-year privateer LMP1 programme for HPD (Honda Racing Corporation’s old name), which also competed in LMP2 between 2010 and 2016. A category in which HPD achieved two Le Mans class victories, in 2010 with the ARX-01 and in 2012 with the ARX-03b, as well as a WEC title in 2012 – all through private teams.
For the record, Honda had already appeared at the Le Mans 24 Hours in the 1990s: in GT2 in 1994 and 1996, and even in GT1 in 1995 with cars entered directly by Honda Motor Co. Ltd. That remains, to this day, the brand’s only official factory entry at Le Mans.
The #46 NSX GT1 was not classified, while the #47 retired. Its driver line-up included former Formula 1 drivers Ivan Capelli and Bertrand Gachot, alongside touring car star Armin Hahne.
Honda’s story with Le Mans, then, still largely remains to be written.
