Toyota will run a Hydrogen Powered GR Corolla in a 25 Hour Endurance Race in Thailand
Toyota as a brand has been quite the renegade brand when it comes to sustainable mobility. While the whole automotive landscape has focused solely on making Electric Vehicles (EVs) work, Toyota has chosen to spread its resources.
Apart from pushing Hybrid technology, the brand has also pushed for Hydrogen propulsion. In fact, their most recent endeavor is putting Hydrogen through the ultimate test; Endurance Racing.
Toyota GR Corolla Hydrogen Endurance Car
ROOKIE Racing Co., Ltd. (ROOKIE Racing) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced their participation in the IDEMITSU 1500 SUPER ENDURANCE 2022 at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand from December 17 to 18, 2022. They will race with the ORC ROOKIE GR Corolla H2 concept, a hydrogen engine vehicle., and the ORC ROOKIE GR86 CNF Concept, a carbon-neutral fuel vehicle.
The participation of both cars will not be for the entire 25 hours but will be for the first and last few hours of the race. This will be the first time both vehicles will compete in a race outside of Japan.
ROOKIE Racing participated in the Super Taikyu series in Japan midway through the 2021 season, with a hydrogen-powered Corolla, and accelerated efforts towards “producing,” “transporting,” and “using” hydrogen. For the 2022 season, in addition to the hydrogen engine Corolla, ROOKIE Racing and Toyota is racing the synthetic fuel GR86 and continuing to approach the challenge of expanding clean energy options through the use of internal combustion engines.
Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, is also the founder and team owner of ROOKIE Racing and participates under the driver name “Morizo”.
The automaker is committed to global carbon neutrality by 2050 in a practical and sustainable manner while also delivering Mobility for All. If the brand succeeds (we hope they do) there may just be hope for motor racing without the need to use fossil fuels.
