The project to race the hydrogen prototypes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is there, it is solid, but in all likelihood it is destined to be postponed for another year.
Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, organizer of the Sarthe and promoter of the WEC, declared that he considers the new objective by 2026, outlined in the week of this year’s edition number 100, increasingly unachievable of the famous 24 Hours.
“It’s not realistic to debut the hydrogen class in 2026,” Fillon said. “We have to spend some time on safety and the times are proving to be longer than expected. I think it is more realistic as a goal to see the class debut in 2027.”
Hydrogen fuel cell prototypes were due to be allowed at Le Mans from 2024, with a one-make chassis developed by Red Bull Advanced Technologies and ORECA, but the date was later pushed back to 2025.
ACO and FIA, who jointly run the WEC, have updated their plans for the alternative fuel ahead of the start of this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The announcement revealed that hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine prototypes will be able to race against fuel cell cars, with a new 2026 start date confirmed.
The idea is that hydrogen-powered cars will be able to compete for overall victory in the Hypercar class alongside the LMh and LMDh.
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Mission H24 Hydrogen
The June news coincided with the announcement of Toyota’s intention to compete at the top of endurance racing with a hydrogen-powered prototype with a combustion engine and the unveiling of a mock-up of a development car known as GR-H2.
This car builds on Toyota’s experience racing in Japan with the Corolla G2 from 2021, powered by the engine from the GR Yaris Rally1 racing in the WRC.
The announcement means that the idea of a single-brand chassis has been dropped, although it has not yet been formally confirmed by the ACO.
Pascal Vasselon, technical director of Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, said at Le Mans that in his opinion it would be possible for a manufacturer to compete for overall victory with a hydrogen car as early as 2026, using combustion or fuel cell technology. fuel.
“Anything is possible with a technological push,” he said. “There is no obstacle if the technological level is allowed: it should be feasible.”
ACO began talking about hydrogen as a potential fuel for Le Mans as early as 2018 and has entered into a joint venture with the French-Swiss organization GreenGT to trial fuel cell technology in racing under the name MissionH24.
Plans for a third-generation MissionH24 prototype were unveiled last month. The as-yet-unnamed car will be developed on a chassis built by German manufacturer ADESS and is expected to start racing in 2025.
It was designed, like its predecessor known simply as the H24, to compete in the Michelin-sponsored Le Mans Cup as part of the Le Mans European Championship.
Fillon explained that he could also race in the ELMS, but that he is not expected to occupy the place on the Garage 56 grid at Le Mans reserved for an experimental car.
“The H24 is destined to compete in the Le Mans Cup or perhaps the ELMS, not Le Mans,” he said. “The goal of the H24 is to have the same performance as the GT3, we are not a manufacturer.”
“This car is just a laboratory to better understand what we need to do in terms of safety and refueling, we will learn a lot with this car.”
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