Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRS US) has backed Porsche Motorsport’s call for swift progress on the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and IMSA 2030 Hypercar/GTP regulations, stressing that clear guidelines are needed soon to properly plan future involvement.
Newly appointed HRC US president Kelvin Fu — who recently took over the leadership role from David Salters before the Indianapolis race — confirmed that Honda is closely monitoring the high-level working group discussions between the FIA, the ACO, and IMSA despite having paused its Acura program in IMSA competition citing the cost of Evo upgrades to their LMDh cars.
While Porsche Motorsport head Thomas Laudenbach recently stated that he wishes for a detailed technical framework by Christmas 2026, Fu explained that Acura faces a similar timeline as it evaluates its sports car future, given the lead times required for prototype design and internal budget approvals.
«It’s definitely something we’re paying attention to. We still attend the high-level working group, so we still see all the rule sets that FIA and ACO are working their way through. In terms of timing, it takes approximately two-something years to develop something to get ready for racing,» Fu told Motorsport.com regarding the 2030 regulatory roadmap.
The scope of the forthcoming regulations will dictate just how early manufacturers must commit resources. Whether the 2030 formula represents a clean-sheet design or an evolution of the existing LMDh and LMH platforms remains one of the main uncertainties facing interested brands.
«It depends on the scope of the rules — what’s the chassis rules, what’s the aero rules, what’s the power unit rules,» Fu said. «Is it a clean sheet of design? We don’t know right now. Talking around, there’s still a certain amount of uncertainty about what the options are, and then we have to take time to evaluate what’s our approach to the whole thing going to be.»
Fu emphasized that clarity within the next year will be essential for manufacturers to lay the groundwork for potential programs.
«You would need to know next year-ish what it looks like,» Fu added. «Because in early 2028, you need to at least start putting the team together, which means there’s got to be budget allocation, business cases. You have to start justifying a lot of what we’re doing here.»
Kelvin Fu, David Salters
Photo by: HRC
Three Criteria for Acura’s Racing Commitment
Evaluating future technical platforms comes down to three fundamental criteria for HRC US and American Honda: competitiveness, technological relevance, and alignment with production vehicle strategy.
«Any time we look at any series, it doesn’t really matter which: number one, can we compete? Two, is it developing something different or new or interesting from a technology point? Three, is it relevant to what Honda or Acura are doing? That’s really the three things,» Fu explained.
Hybrid technology remains a vital pillar for production road cars, making high-level hybrid competition a key element of Acura’s GTP program in IMSA as well as Honda’s involvement in IndyCar.
Additionally, maintaining design freedom to reflect brand styling language and ensuring cost control remain essential factors. It was one of the targets for the current Hypercar/GTP regulations, but WEC stated «enhanced visual identity» in its release as one of the cornerstones of the 2030 rules.
Economic sustainability for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) remains paramount across all racing disciplines, hence the evo upgrades are set to be banned under the new regulations, aiming to guarantee a five-year period of racing for one investment.
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