Rolling laboratory
To continue with the exciting racing action, Race Weekend Two of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup concluded at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga last weekend.
This time, the race cars used ran on biofuels for the very first time, thus making them a “rolling laboratory”. This coincides with the company’s advocacy for sustainability, particularly in the aftermath of the height of the worldwide energy disruption early this year.
Specifically, the Vios OMR and Tamaraw OMR utilized low-carbon biofuels. This served as a test platform for the usage benefits of five percent coco-biodiesel blend (B5) and 20 percent bio-ethanol blend (E20), offering a unique opportunity “to push vehicles to their limits”.
“We’re back on track continuing our mission of pursuing pushing limits, developing talent, and bringing the thrill of racing closer to Filipino fans. More importantly, this event embodies the spirit of Toyota Gazoo Racing as we race to create ever better cars,” shared Toyota Motor Philippines president Masando Hashimoto during the opening ceremony as he likewise raced at the Tamaraw Cup of the prestigious local motorsports affair.
He said that they are working closely with their partners to make racing with biofuels possible. The company also demonstrated how they are testing the actual race cars to officials from Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture, who were present at the race track.
“This inspiration came from Toyota’s global motorsports sports activities,” he further added.
In the Japan Super Taikyu Series, the Toyota GR 86, driven by Daisuke Toyoda, competes using E20 biofuels. While the GR Corolla that Akiyo Toyoda races with runs on liquid hydrogen powered by an internal combustion engine.
“These programs continue to prove that motorsports can exhilarate innovation by testing technologies in the toughest conditions,” Hashimoto continued.
For him, locally, the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup serves as their own rolling laboratory allowing them to evaluate the performance, durability and reliability of biofuels under real racing conditions.
“Here, we generate learnings that can contribute to more sustainable mobility.”
Successful rolling laboratory
Meanwhile, according to Charlie Osia, TMP’s certified national technical leader, who is at the helm of conducting the experiments, that there were big improvements in terms of acceleration and performance, particularly in the Sporting and Super Sporting classes which used the E20 ethanol.
“From the normal E10, we used E20, which is twice as much. That’s why there was a significant improvement in power,” he said.
In the Tamaraw Cup, however, wherein drivers used B5, instead of the normal B3, there was no significant change in performance.
Despite reporting that there was no difference felt during their driving performances, Tamaraw Cup frontrunner and multi-time champion Iñigo Anton said that, at least, they were somehow helping the environment by using biofuels.
“We’re racing much cleaner now, definitely,” he shared.
According to another report, one team divulged that they were allegedly able to save fuel with the B5.
One representative said that they were allotted 110 liters of biofuel for the whole race weekend. This includes the practices, qualifying, and races themselves. By the end of the races, they still had around 60 liters of fuel left, accounting for a little over half of their total allocation in terms of total usage.
Furthermore, for Osia, as a whole, Toyota believes there is not a single solution to the current issue now, particularly with what happened during the crisis in the Middle East.
“That’s why we are pushing for the multipathway approach. These biofuels are just part of that. This is also aligned with the global direction for carbon neutrality 2050. That’s why we’re exploring this,” he added.
“The normal testing should be conducted in the laboratory or in a controlled environment. This time, we used it in the most extreme condition possible.”
TMP, moreover, plans to continue using biofuels in their next races.
For the record, the official final tally of feedback and results from all the drivers and teams have yet been released.
“Still, this is already a success for us,” stated TMP’s senior vice president and head of the marketing division, Sherwin Chua-Lim. “For us, just contributing to environmental sustainability is already considered a win.”
