Image: Supplied.

Following its first championship since 2004 with Jett Lawrence winning this year’s 250MX crown, Team Honda HRC has announced team manager Erik Kehoe is set to retire.

Involved with Honda in some capacity since the late 1980s, Kehoe has long been a staple at American Honda. First as a racer, before moving on to manage the Honda of Troy race program for seven seasons.

Kehoe then managed the factory team from 2002 to 2012, securing four Pro Motocross championships and two AMA Supercross titles. He then returned to the team management role in 2018.

This season, he helped the team capture what would be his fifth Pro Motocross championship with rising star Lawrence, the team announcing his retirement just over one week after the final round.

“I’d be lying if I said we weren’t disappointed Erik is leaving,” Honda’s manager of sports and experiential Brandon Wilson said. “Anyone who has been around racing knows how pressure-filled that world can be, but Erik always manages to not only keep things organized and running smoothly, but to do so with a respectful, diplomatic approach that maintains harmony within the team.

“While I’ll be sad to see him go, I’m happy for him to enjoy this next phase in his life. On behalf of the team and everyone at Honda and HRC, we’d like to thank him for all of his hard work and leadership, and we wish him all the best.”

Kehoe said the decision was difficult to make but he is looking forward to putting his time and energy into personal projects going forward.

“This decision to retire was very difficult, but at the same time, I know it’s time to slow down my pace,” Kehoe said. “I would like to thank American Honda and Brandon Wilson, in particular, for giving me the chance to return to the team this last time.

“I really wanted to help get Honda some positive momentum in supercross and motocross – this past season, I think the team has enjoyed many successes. I’ve truly enjoyed my time here, but it’s time to focus on some personal projects that I’ve been putting off for some time.”

Kehoe will remain with the team through part of the off-season to help transition the team to a new manager, who will be announced at a later date.