Latest news with #ToyotaGazooRacingWRT
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
WRC legend Juha Kankkunen to drive hydrogen Toyota rally car
Four-time WRC world champion and Toyota deputy team principal Juha Kankkunen will pilot the latest hydrogen-powered rally car from Toyota at Rally Finland. The GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept will make its debut on the Harju stage of the event, which runs from 31 July until 3 August. The car has been extensively developed at the Toyota WRC team's headquarters in Jyvaskyla, Finland, and is based around its current GR Yaris Rally2 car – albeit fitted with an internal combustion engine fuelled by compressed hydrogen. Advertisement Toyota previously showcased the technology in the WRC at Ypres Rally Belgium in 2022, when Kankkunen and then Toyota president Akio Toyoda jumped behind the wheel. Since then, the concept has undergone further development to create the current iteration of the car, which will make its debut in Finland. Toyota has heavily invested in developing hydrogen-powered race cars as one of the options for the future of motorsport in a carbon neutral society. The Japanese car maker has been competing with hydrogen-powered cars since 2021 when it raced a modified Corolla in the Super Taikyu series in Japan, with Toyota's WRC team principal Jari-Matti Latvala among the roster of drivers. Last month, Toyota unveiled a hydrogen-powered prototype test car as the next step on its road to racing with the alternative fuel at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Juha Kankkunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Juha Kankkunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT The GR LH2 has been built at Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe in the German city of Cologne around a chassis from its GR010 Hybrid Le Mans Hypercar. No details of the engine or hybrid system, which have been developed at Toyota's Higashi-Fuji Technical Centre in Japan, were revealed. Advertisement In addition to the debut of the GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept, Toyota will field a standard GR Yaris Rally2 for Latvala to contest his home event in Finland. The 18-time WRC rally winner contested the WRC2 class at the event last year, piloting a Toyota to second in class and sixth overall. 'I'm really excited to make my 20th Rally Finland start, driving the GR Yaris Rally2 together with Janni Hussi,' said Latvala. 'It's Finnish rally tradition to mark a big birthday by entering our home event, so thank you Akio Toyoda for allowing me to realise this special achievement in the year I turned 40. 'It's also a chance for me to stay sharp at the wheel of a modern rally car as I provide my feedback into the development of this and other cars for TGR-WRT.' Read Also: Toyota unveils hydrogen-powered test car at Le Mans 24 Hours Toyota to race hydrogen car alongside existing hypercar in 2028 WEC To read more articles visit our website.
Muscat Daily
03-05-2025
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Oman's Abdullah al Zubair wins MERC2 at Rally Saudi Arabia
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oman's Abdullah al Zubair won the MERC2 category at the inaugural Jeddah-based Rally Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Al Zubair dominated from the start in his Subaru Impreza and moved firmly into title contention against fellow countryman Zakariya al Aamri. 'Very nice, very fast,' said Al Zubair. 'Overall, I am happy. It has been very challenging. You have to trust your notes on this rally.' Meanwhile, Nasser Saleh al Attiyah won five of the day's six gravel stages to the north of the Red Sea city to earn a record-breaking 89th career MERC rally win, as he bids for a 20th FIA Middle East Rally Championship title Al Attiyah and Candido Carrera, in an Autotek Škoda Fabia RS, suffered a time-consuming puncture on the second stage of the final day but hit back to win his third successive MERC event with his Spanish co-driver Carrera by 1min 37.4sec. Al Attiyah said: 'It was nice to win the rally. But the good thing was that we had the rally back here in Saudi Arabia. I cannot wait for the next one in November. I want to do it in a Rally1 car!' Finn Juho Hänninen and his co-driver Janni Hussi entered the event in a Toyota Yaris for test and research purposes on behalf of the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT. But the duo won two stages and finished in a comfortable second position, although they were not registered for MERC points. Hänninen added: 'It was okay. We saw all the stages and we learned a lot. From that side it was a good journey. Nasser is the king of the Middle East. I knew that before coming here. The result was not that important. We learned so many things. It's nice to be second after Nasser. It was nice to see him again because we competed together many years ago.' Saudi driver Rakan Al Rashed teamed up with Hugo Magalhães to finish on the final step of the podium. Qatar's Abdulaziz al Kuwari and his Irish team-mate Lorcan Moore moved briefly into third overall during the final morning before stopping to change a flat tyre mid-stage. That time loss pushed them back to fourth, a position they held to the finish to stay ahead of Oman's Abdullah al Rawahi and his British co-driver Ross Whittock. Three punctures had cost Al Rawahi dearly on day one.
