Racing at Le Mans with a Hydrogen Powered Vehicle; Akio Shares His Forward-Thinking Plans for Motor Sports in France
In the historic 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota made a significant stride towards sustainable motorsports. Chairman Akio Toyoda introduced the GR LH2 Racing Concept, a hydrogen-powered race car designed for the World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Powered by liquid hydrogen, the GR LH2 Racing Concept is based on Toyota’s existing GR010 Hybrid Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) platform. It incorporates technology developed from Toyota’s hydrogen program in Japan's Super Taikyu racing series. The concept aims to be Toyota’s first hydrogen-powered race car to compete at Le Mans, potentially making its debut via the Garage 56 special entry category around 2028.
Chairman Akio Toyoda expressed his goal of achieving carbon neutrality in motorsports without compromising performance or excitement. He also expressed enthusiasm for competitors to consider hydrogen as an option in motorsports. The GR LH2 Racing Concept demonstrates Toyota’s commitment to hydrogen as a future racing fuel in endurance motorsports, aligning with sustainability goals.
In the days leading up to the race, race organizers announced unexpected Balance of Performance (BoP) adjustments, saddling Toyota with an additional 37 kg. This extra weight would slow the car by more than one second per lap. Despite this, Toyota finished in second place in a fierce duel with Ferrari, narrowly missing out on the hoped-for sixth straight victory.
Akio Toyoda thanked everyone who cheered on the team during the race and expressed gratitude to the ACO and Le Mans for providing an opportunity to share Toyota’s efforts towards carbon neutrality. He also looked forward to Toyota’s new GR H2 race car in view of the new Le Mans H2 class in the future.
The GR LH2 Racing Concept, with its liquid hydrogen fuel and hydrogen combustion technology, represents the top-tier endurance racing effort at Le Mans and WEC, showcasing hydrogen’s potential in the world’s most challenging motorsport environment. This contrasts with other Toyota hydrogen motorsport initiatives like the experimental hydrogen internal combustion engine seen in the GR Yaris and Corolla Sport in Japan, which use compressed hydrogen fuel and are tested in smaller race formats.
The event took place over the weekend of June 10 and 11, with President Pierre Fillon of ACO holding a press conference a day earlier, on Friday June 9. A "mystery Toyota car" was on display at the circuit, as announced by President Fillon. Akio Toyoda was invited to the stage to reveal the mystery car, which turned out to be the GR LH2 Racing Concept.
Toyota faced competition from rival manufacturers from Europe and the U.S. in this year’s Le Mans. Despite the challenges, the unveiling of the GR LH2 Racing Concept marks an important step towards racing with carbon-neutral hydrogen power. Toyota continues development efforts on both the car and hydrogen refueling infrastructure in collaboration with the race organizers ACO and partners like TotalEnergies.
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