This weekend, Toyota will be taking part in the SuperTaikyu championship, as part of the Fuji 24 Hours. The company will be competing with improved components fitted to its Corolla GR, which features a combustion engine fuelled by liquid hydrogen.

Last year, the pump used to increase liquid hydrogen pressure needed to be changed twice during the race due to premature wear of the bearings. Toyota is hopeful that this will not be the case, thanks to a stronger piston pump with a new mechanism. A single pump should be enough to complete the two laps of the clock.

The shape of the liquid hydrogen tank has also been changed. Instead of a cylindrical shape, it is now oval. This increases the quantity (220 litres instead of 150) and improves the range (135 km instead of 90). There will be twice as much hydrogen on board compared with 2022, when Toyota was using gaseous hydrogen.

The Japanese manufacturer is also applying a CO2 capture technology that uses large-volume air intake and the heat generated by the internal combustion engine. This device is fitted in the engine compartment, at the inlet of the air purifier.

Toyota points out that Masahiko Kondo, race director for SUPER GT and Super Formula in Japan, and Jari-Matti Latvala, team director of the TGR-WRT rally team, will be taking part in the Fuji 24-hour race. They will be joining Group Chairman Akio Toyoda (aka Morizo) and other drivers to take on new challenges in the liquid hydrogen Corolla.

The race will be available on YouTube.

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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Mariem Ben Tili