since 1976
since 1976
Mr. Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, who is also the founder and team owner of ROOKIE Racing, as well as a racer under the name “Morizo” led the team to participate in the IDEMITSU 1500 SUPER ENDURANCE 2022 (Thailand 25H Endurance Race) at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand from December 17 to 18, 2022, with the ORC ROOKIE GR Corolla H2 concept, a hydrogen engine vehicle, and the ORC ROOKIE GR86 CNF Concept, a carbon-neutral (CN) fuel vehicle. The two concept vehicles raced for the first and last few hours and there were high levels of excitement from the media and audiences around the track.
The livestream that was broadcasted on Thailand’s TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Motorsport Facebook page also garnered high engagements.
This verified the determination to uplift and accelerate carbon neutral technology by expanding more options through motorsports in Asia, where they test the development of vehicles and train people with agility while garnering more partners that have a similar passion.
A few years ago, ROOKIE Racing won the 10-hour IDEMITSU 600 SUPER ENDURANCE 2019, its first entry in the race held at the circuit. This year was ROOKIE Racing’s first entry in three years, and they had tested the cars in an environment different from Japan, with the support of Thai partners, such as BIG (Bangkok Industrial Gas), who provided Hydrogen to be used during the race and transportation trailers to carry the Hydrogen to the circuit.
Race result: “CarbonNeutralPowerCup”
>GR86 CNF concept (Carbon-neutral fuel) No.S22 by Toyota Gazoo Racing Team Thailand finish in 1st place (443 laps)
>GR86 CNF concept (Carbon-neutral fuel) No.S28 by ORC Rookie Racing finish in 2nd place (230 laps)
>GR Corolla H2 concept No.S32 by ORC Rookie Racing finish in 3rd place (152 laps)
The participation is aimed at showcasing the feasibility of carbon neutrality using existing technology and resources to offer multiple technologies to accelerate carbon neutrality in a prompt and practical manner. With our participation in the Thailand 25H Endurance Race, we strive to continue increasing Carbon Neutrality options for mobility in Asia, through motorsports.
