Honda names Kawase as MotoGP team manager, Puig moves to adviser role
NXTbets Pro | Published On: June 18, 2026
Honda confirms Kawase
Honda will hand its factory MotoGP team-manager role to Mikihiko Kawase starting with the 2027 season, and the move keeps the change inside the organization. Alberto Puig will shift into an advisory or consultant role rather than leave Honda, but his new position will cut back or end his day-to-day work with the factory team. Puig will have overseen Honda’s MotoGP effort for nine years when he steps down.
The decision points to a clear internal succession plan. Honda chose to promote from within instead of appointing Davide Brivio, and it had also considered an interim arrangement before settling on a permanent replacement. Kawase already serves as Honda’s MotoGP technical manager, a post he took in 2024 after being described in some contexts as the company’s technical director. Honda has relied on him for years, and the promotion extends that trust into the top management role for the premier class project.
Kawase builds Honda
Kawase brings a long Honda Racing Corporation background into the job. He has been part of HRC since 2012 and spent time leading Honda’s Moto3 project before moving up to MotoGP technical manager. His record in the lightweight class gives him a direct link to one of Honda’s recent successes. He helped Honda win the 2019 Moto3 world title with Lorenzo Dalla Porta, a result that showed the organization he could guide a program through to the front of the field.
That track record matters because Honda is preparing for a major shift in structure and performance expectations. Kawase said 2027 will be a landmark year because rule changes are expected to reshape MotoGP. He framed the task in simple terms. Honda must be ready to fight at the front. The message fits the timing of the leadership change. Honda is putting a technical mind in charge of the factory squad as the championship enters a new phase, and the team will lean on someone who knows the company’s internal systems from the ground up.
Honda rider plans
Honda’s rider picture for 2027 is still unsettled, and the team has not officially announced its factory lineup for that season. Even so, the opening around Kawase’s appointment comes with clear rider speculation around the project. Fabio Quartararo and David Alonso are reported targets for Honda’s 2027 factory roster. Joan Mir and Luca Marini are the riders reportedly in line to be replaced.
That leaves Honda with a leadership change at the same time it prepares for a possible reset in personnel. Puig’s move to an advisory role keeps his experience in the organization, but the day-to-day direction of the factory squad shifts to Kawase. His background in engineering and team development gives Honda a new face for the next cycle, one that starts with the 2027 rules and the pressure to deliver results at the front.
