Toyota Gazoo Racing at 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed – event wrap
Toyota gave thousands of motorsport fans at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed a taste of how the race and rally cars of the future might sound and perform, showcasing its development of alternative, sustainable power technologies.
Last weekend’s event hosted the UK debut of the GR Yaris H2, a prototype rally car which uses hydrogen fuel in an internal combustion engine – a development of the three-cylinder 1.6-litre turbo petrol unit featured in the production GR Yaris.
At the same time as it significantly reduces tailpipe carbon emissions, the powertrain maintains the sound and feel that are traditionally part of the excitement of watching and participating in motorsport.
The hydrogen theme continued with the first UK appearance of the GR H2 Racing Concept. This hydrogen-engine prototype has been developed with future competition in mind, notably a top H2 category proposed for the Le Mans 24 Hours. The car featured in a static display at the festival, alongside the GR010 Hybrid, which has been a dominant force in the FIA World Endurance Championship since the introduction of the Le Mans Hypercar category in 2021.
The festival programme also included speed runs by a Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO running on a synthetic fuel. Earlier this year, the car demonstrated the potential of this technology, competing in the gruelling Nürburgring 24 Hours.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing line-up at Goodwood included the GR DKR Hilux T1+ which took victory in this year’s Dakar Rally; the multi-world-championship-winning GR Yaris Hybrid Rally1; and the WRC2 Concept, designed for the second tier of international rally competition.
The ‘Power of Three’ GR-engineered road-going cars – GR Yaris, GR86 and GR Supra – were also in action, together with the new GR Supra 100th Edition Tribute, a limited edition of the coupe celebrating 100 sales of GR Supra GT4 race cars.
