Synthetic fuel-powered Toyota GR86 wins Thai race

By THOMAS HUONG | 19 December 2022


Buri Ram, Thailand: In the Carbon Neutral Power Cup category at last weekend's (December 16 to 18, 2022) Idemitsu 1500 Super Endurance race at the Chang International Circuit, two synthetic fuel-powered Toyota GR86 cars were the fastest.

Toyota Gazoo Racing Thailand was the winner, followed by Toyota Motor Corp president Akio Toyoda and his Rookie Racing privateer team.

Second runner up went to Rookie Racing's hydrogen powered GR Corolla.

The race cars are a testament to Toyota Motor Corp's vision of a world with regular cars with combustion engines that run on hydrogen or synthetic fuels - derived from renewable energy sources.

There is no fuel cell stack or lithium ion battery here, or electric motors found in EVs (electric vehicles).

The hydrogen powered engine uses hydrogen instead of petrol, and emits almost no carbon dioxide (CO2) - aside from a little engine oil burned during driving.

https://twitter.com/ROOKIE_Racing_/status/1604426991087689728?s=20&t=5C_wjlcR5yJyK80jOGCNEw&fbclid=IwAR2fRFxKsFacP59va3W9GdYRdvljE5dV87yOOOfAOqa7VtICP

In 2021, when Rookie Racing entered the hydrogen powered car in the Fuji 24 Hour race (round 3 of the Super Taikyu Series), it was the first time that the hydrogen powered engine made its global race appearance.

"Many people in Japan associate hydrogen with explosions. I want to show that it is safe by driving in a race myself," said Toyoda.

Toyoda added that there are multiple paths towards achieving carbon neutrality.

"If we pursue BEVs as the only option to reach carbon neutrality, it would eliminate many jobs in the auto industry."

Toyoda explained that to speed up the process of mastering hydrogen powered engine technology, motorsports is a key approach.

"Going straight into a 24 hour race brings all the problems to the surface and forces us to fix them for the next race," he said.

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