Hydrogen-powered cars can race in Le Mans in 2026, says organiser

TOKYO: Cars with hydrogen powered engines will be allowed to enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans — the world’s most famous endurance race — in 2026, said Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO).

“Both technologies — the fuel cell and the hydrogen internal combustion engine — will be accepted and authorised,” in the hydrogen class at the same level as hyper class category, Fillon told reporters at the Fuji International Speedway in Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture on Saturday.

It’s the venue of the Super Taikyu Fuji 24 Hours event this weekend, where a vehicle will race with liquid hydrogen fuel for the first time.

Toyota Motor Corp. has been stressing the importance of hydrogen as a medium to achieve carbon neutrality, company president Koji Sato said at the same press conference.

While the Japanese carmaker’s hydrogen-powered Corolla has already entered in the Super Taikyu, Sato said he would make an announcement on its participation in Le Mans “in the near future.”