Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) announces that its President and CEO Koji Watanabe will retire on 1 January 2027. The company also names Keiichi Yasuda as his successor, with both Motorsport.com and Autosport reporting the leadership change as part of HRC’s ongoing management transition. The Race and Yahoo Sports similarly report that Watanabe’s retirement leads to a new racing boss for Honda starting next year.

The outlets describe Watanabe as a long-serving Honda figure who joined the company in 1987 and became head of Honda’s racing activities in 2022. Across the reports, Watanabe’s tenure is linked to organisational changes within HRC, including oversight of a merger between Honda’s four-wheel and two-wheel divisions. The coverage focuses on the timing of the retirement and the appointment of Yasuda, while not adding major differences in interpretation or disputed details.

Overall, the reporting converges on the same succession plan: Watanabe exits at the start of 2027, and Yasuda takes over the top HRC role.