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Tetsuhiro Kuwata is the protagonist of the fifth episode of the second season of the web series “Behind the Dream”, focused on the character and philosophy of the Director of HRC. A well-known face within the two-wheel racing environment, given his presence in many of the races tackled by HRC around the world.
Kuwata joined Honda Motor in 2000, starting to work at the Automotive Research and Development Centre for the F1 project. Engine development engineer and chief engineer of the Honda Racing Development Test Team from 2005 to 2008, after a year working on the car production project, the Japanese engineer arrived in MotoGP in 2010, in the role of Control Strategy Development Engineer. Since 2016 he has held the role of Director of HRC, supervising all HRC activities in two-wheel competitions from MotoGP to Dakar, passing through championships such as Trial, MXGP and World Superbike.
A job that involves a busy agenda around the world. “My father he was crazy working, from the morning and not only to midnight, sometimes even until two or three o’clock. But he looks as if he was happy, very happy - says Kuwata - At that time I couldn't understand why he was happy. Now, every day I’m working until midnight. One day my son asked me: 'Why are you working so hard?'. Let's say there is the fuel to do it. I hated that kind of lifestyle of my father, but finally, I'm doing the same!”
Deep knowledge of Honda and Japanese culture is at the heart of Kuwata's work: “We are always trying to improve a human being’s life and we try to give back to the customer something for the fun. Some people want to have a sports bike or a MotoGP, some guys want to go 10 meters, but I don’t want to, I cannot walk. We have to give the message from Honda, which is ‘Dreams come true’."
The power of dreams continues to be a mantra for Honda, HRC and for the engineer originally from Kyoto, whose love for engines comes from a particular place like "the cartoon stories when I was a child" recalls the Director of HRC. A passion for anime was precisely what pushed Kuwata to join Mugen and make his way through Honda's various four-wheel racing departments, specializing in the motoring sector. “Half of my life is in this museum - observes the Japanese engineer as he enters the Honda Collection Hall - When I started in this racing career, I was working for Formula 3, but my dream was to be working in Formula 1. I wanted to go there and make the number 1 engine in the world. I had the big target. Honda itself is trying to challenge something for the future. If you believe in dreams all the time, if you are working hard, just keep going to show to the people you can do anything. Maybe it will help to go to your dreams."
