TOYOTA GAZOO Racing unveils liquid hydrogen-fueled “GR LH2 Racing Concept” at Le Mans

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has unveiled the GR LH2 Racing Concept, a liquid hydrogen (LH2) fueled test car to advance the development of hydrogen technology in motorsports. It made its public debut at the Circuit de la Sarthe where it is being exhibited at the H2 Village, organized by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, during the 93rd Le Mans 24 Hours (11-15 June).

As part of its efforts to make ever-better cars through motorsports as the starting point, and to realize a carbon-neutral society, Toyota has advanced its technologies in the challenging environment of motorsports, including the Super Taikyu series in Japan. It has also accelerated its efforts to expand the production, transportation, and use of hydrogen together with partners inside and outside the industry, towards the realization of a carbon-neutral society.

Toyota has taken on the challenge of hydrogen engine development in motorsports, initially through Rookie Racing’s participation in the Japanese Super Taikyu series with the hydrogen-engine Corolla, which initially used gaseous hydrogen from 2021, before the introduction of a liquid hydrogen-powered car from 2023. The potential of hydrogen engines in rallying was showcased in 2022 when the GR Yaris H2 completed demonstration runs on Ypres Rally, a round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

In 2023, the hydrogen-engine Corolla completed a demonstration lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe, while a hydrogen engine concept car, the GR H2 Racing Concept, was presented to preview a potential future hydrogen category at Le Mans. Since then, development of the technology intensified, reaching a new milestone with the unveiling of the liquid hydrogen-powered GR LH2 Racing Concept. It is based on the GR010 HYBRID Hypercar which currently participates in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Through future track testing, the GR LH2 Racing Concept will support Toyota’s continuous development of hydrogen technology and infrastructure, as well as helping build relationships to expand the possibilities of hydrogen through the challenge of motorsports.

The presentation of the forward-looking GR LH2 Racing Concept completes a celebration of past, present and future which marks the 40th anniversary of Toyota’s first participation at Le Mans, following the introduction of a unique combination of livery designs. The #7 GR010 HYBRID of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries carries a red and white tribute livery inspired by the iconic TS020 which participated in 1998. The #8 GR010 HYBRID – driven by Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa – represents the team’s present determination to win. Its matt black livery is built around a GR logo, capturing the team’s “Hate to lose” spirit and the “Prototype” concept of making ever-better motorsports-bred cars and continuous evolution.

READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing unveils liquid hydrogen-fueled “GR LH2 Racing Concept” at Le Mans, source

MEXICO CITY — In some ways, the timing for NASCAR’s first Cup Series race in Mexico could not have been worse.

It came under the shadow of fierce immigration protests and unrest in Los Angeles, and a portion of NASCAR’s fan base had already been skeptical about the series going international.

But none of that was apparent at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez racetrack. The beautiful melting pot of a thoroughly American sport and a highly enthusiastic Mexican fan base caught many in the garage by surprise.

Relatively unknown drivers like Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland, who have a combined two career victories between them, were mobbed like rock stars while walking in public areas of the track. Fans gave NASCAR the Formula One treatment by making homemade apparel and traveling long distances from around Mexico (90 percent of the ticket buyers were from the country, but only 44 percent from Mexico City itself). They were emotional over seeing the Cup cars in person for the first time and begged for NASCAR to announce it would return again next season.

Dude. This is the mob for @ToddGilliland_ pic.twitter.com/VUTLvu3y4R

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 15, 2025

Long after the race, they were lined up outside the garage area to cheer and give high-fives to crew members from every team who were headed toward the exit gates. In example after example, there was a level of excitement for NASCAR that is sometimes not apparent even at the biggest American races.

While NASCAR executive vice president Ben Kennedy wasn’t ready to proclaim the series would indeed come back in 2026, he was clearly moved by how his sport created a bond between people.

Seeing Mexican police hold the flags of both countries as a children’s chorus sweetly sang the anthems of each country before the race, Kennedy said, gave him chills and goosebumps.

By that point, the weekend was already a success regardless of what happened in the race itself.

“No matter what’s going on outside of this racetrack, even outside of this country, sports can be great unifiers,” he said.

“That’s what we saw this weekend. People from all walks of life came together and watched an amazing race with some of the best drivers in the world. That’s what I’m most proud of.”

SVGeez!

It was a bit humorous to see Shane van Gisbergen’s victory compared to Harrison Burton’s Daytona triumph last fall, with some fans lumping the two together as an indictment of NASCAR’s win-and-in playoff system.

In reality, they were not very similar. While Burton earned his stirring victory at Daytona to snatch a playoff spot, that was a superspeedway race where timing and luck can often play a factor in the outcome.

But in Mexico City, van Gisbergen’s win was pure dominance from one of the greatest road racing drivers on the planet. There was simply no one in his class on Sunday, and he won by 16.5 seconds — the largest margin in a NASCAR Cup Series race since Nov. 2009.

This was an entirely predictable outcome from the day it became clear the New Zealand native would be a rookie in the Cup Series for NASCAR’s Mexico race (despite a track record of horrible predictions, even I got this one right).

It’s also exactly why Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks hired him in the first place. Under the current playoff system, everyone knows just one victory not only essentially locks a driver into the playoffs but also increases the season payout dramatically. The No. 88 car’s charter value and its weighted three-year average will now be no lower than 16th for 2025 thanks to van Gisbergen’s triumph, which more than justifies the gamble Marks took on him.

So yes, while fans might think it’s unreasonable for the 33rd-place driver to launch himself into the playoffs with a single win — much as Burton did while sitting 34th in the standings last year — it’s also a major reason why van Gisbergen is in the car at all.

There’s nothing fluky about a road course ace winning on the type of circuit that makes up nearly a fifth of the regular-season schedule; ultimately, van Gisbergen did exactly what he was expected to do all along.

After Sunday’s win, Shane van Gisbergen is essentially locked into the playoffs in his rookie Cup Series campaign. (James Gilbert / Getty Images)

Suárez’s homecoming

Maybe it will get lost in the annals of NASCAR history because it was an Xfinity Series race and not a Cup race, but Daniel Suárez’s win on Saturday was one of the sport’s most storybook moments in recent memory.

NASCAR hasn’t had too many high-profile, sentimental moments of late, which is one reason why the same ones continue to be shown and discussed time and again (the 2001 Pepsi 400, for example, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the first race at Daytona International Speedway after the death of his father in that year’s Daytona 500).

But we shouldn’t let this weekend pass without looking back on what Suárez accomplished. After all, just getting to this point — with NASCAR traveling to his home country — was made much easier by his presence.

Suárez entered both the Cup race and Xfinity race and gave his countrymen a reason to be excited. He tirelessly promoted the race and took on the pressure of being the face of the event — all while playing host to his American NASCAR family (he even sent media members a list of his favorite Mexico City restaurants to ensure they had a positive experience).

But then in an unforced error in Xfinity Series qualifying on Saturday, he crashed his JR Motorsports car into a barrier and destroyed it. Suárez had to start in last place, in a backup car with no laps on it, and his chances of even a top 10 finish seemed unlikely on a road course.

Except Suárez steadily made his way through the field and his team made the right strategy calls, suddenly putting him in position for an incredible victory. As he held off Taylor Gray in the final laps, the noise of the crowd could be heard over the engines — a rare occurrence in the world of throaty stock car racing.

Suárez triumphantly climbed atop his car in the middle of a converted baseball stadium, turning to all three sides of the grandstands to salute the frenzied crowd. It was the sort of moment that NASCAR needs every now and again to remind people of racing’s magic.

Unbelievable moment! Incredible stuff here in Mexico City! pic.twitter.com/EGEyMLA4Iv

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 14, 2025

Carson, again

Another week, another Carson Hocevar controversy. Or three.

The most notable this week was another run-in with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in which Hocevar accidentally took out Stenhouse while running one lap down; in-car camera audio then captured a confrontation after the race in which Stenhouse vowed to beat up Hocevar when they returned to the United States — lest he risk ending up in a Mexican jail with an assault charge.

Of all people Hocevar could have made contact with, Stenhouse was the least ideal. Their run-in two weeks ago at Nashville seemed somewhat forgiven as long as Hocevar didn’t do it again, and Stenhouse said last week at Michigan he was willing to focus on racing instead of getting into a tit-for-tat while both drivers attempted to make the playoffs.

Then Hocevar ran into him again, and Stenhouse — who has already shown a proclivity to defend himself — is unlikely to let it go this time.

Meanwhile, Hocevar also caused a race-altering caution flag when he spun and was apparently unable to re-fire his car. After the No. 77 sat there stalled for what seemed like an eternity, NASCAR finally called a caution with the leaders approaching at speed — despite it being in the middle of a green-flag pit cycle.

That ruined the races of drivers like Ty Gibbs, who later said he was 10 seconds away from pitting and was seemingly the only driver who could hang with van Gisbergen. Gibbs felt he could have won the race if not for that caution but finished 11th instead.

NASCAR did not view Hocevar’s caution as intentional, but some in the garage did; he has a track record of trying to bring out the yellow flag, and thus is viewed with skepticism.

Finally, Hocevar made closed-minded comments about Mexico City during a Twitch stream at the start of the weekend — including calling the city a “s—hole.” He later regretted it, issuing an apology on social media after the race.

“Maybe a kid that had never been out of the country until Thursday should ever give an opinion about what any place is like other than Portage, Michigan,” Hocevar wrote. “When I answered that question on a stream, I was skeptical about the trip so far and believed everything I read or heard about Mexico City from people who more than likely also had never been here.

“Now that I’ve actually left my hotel a couple times and raced here in front of some of the most passionate fans I’ve ever seen, my opinion has changed. I am embarrassed by my comments, by the race I ran, and I may have to move here to hide out from Ricky anyway.”

He concluded: “Count this as another lesson for me in a season I’ve learned so much. Don’t believe everything you hear without seeing it yourself. If anyone should give anyone or any place the benefit of the doubt it’s me. I’m sorry Mexico City. Consider me an ally going forward and an example of getting off Twitch and seeing things with my own two eyes.”

A taste of culture

Of all the various cultural observations I heard this weekend, Bubba Wallace’s thoughts on hot sauce resonated the most with my experience.

Wallace noted that in Mexico City, similar to some restaurants in the United States, a waiter will bring a few sauces with the meal and describe their degree of heat. One end will be the hottest, the other end will be the mildest.

Except in Mexico, the “hot” was really not that hot compared to what we have in America. They were much tastier than the burn-your-face-off, five-alarm fire heat that results in immediately chugging water.

“When you get home, ours is stupid hot — no flavor, nothing at all,” Wallace said. “Their hottest one has a decent kick to it, but it has a tremendous amount of flavor to go with it. They are doing it right down here. I think we are just looking for who can be in the most pain in the States.”

(Top photo of fans at Sunday’s Cup Series race: James Gilbert / Getty Images)

Kyle Larson is open to NASCAR adding podiums for the top three finishers — like we’ll see after Sunday’s Cup race in Mexico City — but with a caveat.

NASCAR’s first points-paying international Cup Series race in the 21st century will adhere to motorsports customs followed outside the U.S., but it shouldn’t be a fixture at all its tracks, according to the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver.

“Maybe just your crown jewel events would be a good start. But I’m not sure,” Larson said during media availability on Saturday. “I come from dirt racing where the top three have to stop on the frontstretch every night and do your interview, which we do interviews on pit road (in NASCAR) and stuff, so that’s not way different.”

Larson admitted that while it can be frustrating to force a smile after a tough race, fans appreciate seeing the top three drivers on the front-stretch for photos and the overall moment. He pointed to other forms of motorsport — especially Formula One — where the post-race podium celebrates not just the drivers, but also their countries, with national anthems adding to the occasion.

At the same time, the 32-year-old also believes that NASCAR shouldn’t lose its own identity. “I just think that’s a nice added touch. So, yeah, I think there’s ways to look at it and make it kind of feel like our own; we’re not completely copying other forms of motorsports,” he added.

Fellow Cup driver Ross Chastain said it may be difficult to have three drivers on a platform — or even as Larson said, on the frontstretch after a race — but recognition should be given to more than just the winning driver.

Larson agrees. “Second and third should be celebrated a little bit more than it is. Not only for yourself and your team, but your partners and whatnot. I think there’s ways that NASCAR can look at making it have their own kind of touch and feel,” he said.

NASCAR has tried podiums before

NASCAR has previously experimented with podium ceremonies, such as during the three years the preseason Clash was held at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

“I thought the L.A. Clash thing was awesome, too,” Larson said. “So, yeah, we’ve done it before. I think we can do it at other places.” 

As NASCAR continues to explore podium traditions from other forms of motorsport, the challenge lies in striking a balance between innovation and preserving its own heritage.

MEXICO CITY — NASCAR senior executive Ben Kennedy was non-committal Sunday on if the Xfinity and Cup Series will return to Mexico next year but said “we’re very hopeful to be back here in the future.”

Sunday’s race won by New Zealand native Shane van Gisbergen was the first Cup points event outside the continental United States since 1958.

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Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president, chief venue & racing innovation officer, said that he was pleased with the weekend’s events and the crowd. He noted that 44% of the crowd came from Mexico City and that 90% of the crowd came from Mexico. He did not reveal attendance numbers for the weekend or Sunday’s race.

Along with the inaugural Cup race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, thje Xfinity Series returned this weekend for the first time since 2008.

“I would say for us, this is more of a strategic move as a sport to expand our footprint globally and internationally and to a new mass fan base,” Kennedy said. “Just being in a country with 90 million people and over 20 million people in the larger Mexico City metro alone, not in and of itself, this is a success.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. upset with Carson Hocevar, vows action when ‘we get back to the States’

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s comments were caught by Carson Hocevar’s in-car camera after the race.

Before the race, NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps addressed competitors in the drivers meeting and noted the importance of the event.

“We’ve had several game-changing firsts in recent years, but this one is different,” he said. “Racing here in Mexico City, amongst these passionate fans in such an impressive venue for the first time in NASCAR Cup Series history, is in a word, spectacular.

“Together, we are doing something that will be remembered in the history of our great sport.”

While Kennedy would not commit to the NASCAR Cup Series returning, the sanctioning body is not known for going to a venue one year and then abandoning it the next year if it is deemed to be successful.

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NASCAR’s experiment with the Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum went three years after a strong first year. The Chicago Street Race, fulfilling the original agreement, will host its third Cup and Xfinity weekend next month. The All-Star Race has been at North Wilkesboro Speedway the past three years and some were calling for that track to host a points race next year.

What drivers said at Mexico City after Cup race won by Shane van Gisbergen

The Trackhouse Racing driver turned in a dominant performance for his second career Cup victory.

The only new track on the NASCAR schedule in recent years that hosted the Cup Series for less than three years was Road America. That date went to the Chicago Street Race.

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Asked why wouldn’t NASCAR return to Mexico City next year, Kennedy said: “As we’re going through the planning of putting together the pieces of the 2026 schedule, there are a lot of dominoes that need to fall.”

Kennedy noted that NASCAR has learned much from holding this event. He admitted not all went well logistically. Two NASCAR-chartered planes carrying team members to Mexico were grounded Thursday, causing significant delays for those team members.

Kennedy did say that should NASCAR return it would “ideally be around an off week” because of the travel challenges for teams — particularly sending haulers straight from Michigan after that race to Mexico and then the haulers returning to Charlotte, North Carolina, this week before going to Pocono Raceway for this weekend’s race.

Day five the 2025 Chevrolet Performance HOT ROD Power Tour Driven by Hagerty gave participants one last blast through Americana on the way to its last stop for 2025. The crowds were huge and the turnout record breaking. Add in some pretty nice weather, and the 2025 HRPT was shaping out to be one for the record books.

Friday morning kicked off with a relatively short 116-mile cruise from the Monroe County Fairgrounds in Monroe, Michigan, to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. It’s perfect that Power Tour ends at a dragstrip, and after two days of fairgrounds, we’re sure participants were eager for some racing.

The back roads and byways of Ohio gave HRPT drivers exceptional open roads punctuated with small towns and rest stops.

A big part of the Power Tour is interacting with the spectators found in small towns along the route. Participants tossed toy cars to the kids, and locals begged for burnouts. By the way, “I did it for the kids!” won’t fly in court.

Drag racing was insanely popular in Norwalk, and we even extended the action a few hours to match demand so that everyone could have some fun on track.

The venue was also a chance for spectators and participants to meet and get autographs from some pretty cool folks from the hot-rodding universe, including Mike Cotten, David Newbern, Chris Jacobs, Cristy Lee, and others.

HRPT sponsor Chevrolet Performance brought out a bunch of cool hardware for the event, such as this LS-swapped G-body Monte Carlo SS and a brand-new 1,000-plus-hp Corvette ZR1 Indy Pace car.

Each day, designer Murray Pfaff and HOT ROD’s John McGann choose five rides for a Power Parker Award, which includes a sweet trophy along with a primo parking spot.

Pro Street Alley was a great addition to our 2025 Power Tour and will most likely return next year because people love checking out these big-tire and often blown, over-the-top hot rods.

Some of the oddball stuff that shows up at Power Tour defies description and shows what you can pull off with a good and maybe somewhat twisted imagination and a welder.

The manufacturers midway was packed as people checked out products, cars, and displays and grabbed merch. The midway also featured contests and activities such as driving simulators. Tremec and American Powertrain even gave away a transmission package to one lucky winner from the week.

The 2025 Chevrolet Performance HOT ROD Power Tour Driven by Hagerty is in the rearview mirror, and while we don’t have the final numbers, it looks like well over 6,000 cars participated. It was also our biggest Power Tour in over three decades. As for 2026, our team has already started hunting down venues and thinking about the coolest routes to get from point A to spot B, so keep an eye on our website and social media for 2026 HRPT news.

Shane van Gisbergen stood tall on the highest Victory Podium step, wearing a traditional Mexican sombrero and spraying champagne to celebrate his win in Sunday’s Viva Mexico 250 at the world-renowned Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.

The entire sport undoubtedly felt equally as triumphant following the first international points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race weekend in half a century.

Regardless of a couple mid-week logistical issues, the race weekend itself was certainly viewed as a success by those who planned, those who executed, those who raced – and as importantly, those that attended.

The facility was world-class, the fans were knowledgeable and enthusiastic and the drivers they came to watch were basking in all the Mexican amor shown to them.

From Front Row Motorsports’ driver Todd Gilliland to Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace – the drivers were surrounded by large and loud groups of avid fans wherever they roamed from paddock to fan zone.

And Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suarez, who worked so hard and passionately for months to help promote NASCAR’s race weekend in his home country? He was like a motorsports’ version of The Beatles coming to America. Huge groups of fans followed him everywhere – chanting his name, wearing his race shirts, holding up home-made signs.

The only time Suarez wasn’t grinning this weekend came as he stood on the starting grid Sunday morning alongside his family – joining in with a children’s choir as they sang the Mexican National Anthem. The emotion for Suarez was palpable.

And he rewarded the masses of supporters for sure, winning Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at his home road course and running up front early in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Race too. Even his 19th-place finish was treated more like a victory.

“Every single thing about this weekend exceeded my expectations, the people, the fans, the sponsors, the excitement, the energy,” said Suarez, Van Gisbergen’s Trackhouse Racing teammate. “I had expectations for this weekend, not the results, but, [for] the event and I can tell you that I personally exceeded those expectations.

“So very, very happy for that. Very blessed. I hope that we can do it many more times.”

It was certainly a prevailing theme.

NASCAR Hall of Famer and Hendrick Motorsports executive Jeff Gordon spoke with reporters prior to the race and was encouraged and enthusiastic about the sport’s experience in Mexico City.

Later, he even delivered a hybrid starting command in honor of the Spanish-speaking crowd, telling the grid “Pilatos, start your engines.”

“Listen to the fans,” he said smiling when asked about the reception NASCAR received. “There are a large amount of fans that want to see NASCAR in person. Internationally, I think it opens a lot of doors for sponsorships and if we have a crowd that’s as energetic today as it was yesterday – of course Daniel [winning] played into that too – but to me, the most exciting thing about coming here is the passion, the excitement, the energy that fans here in Mexico bring.  … that’s why I think we’re here.”

NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy wouldn’t go so far as to promise a return engagement, but he was also understandably pleased with the weekend overall – acknowledging there are some learning curves logistically-speaking, but overall heartened by the passion shown to NASCAR. He said, 90 percent of those that attended the race were from Mexico, 44 percent from Mexico City.

“Today wasn’t just a race,” said Kennedy, NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Venue and Racing Innovations Officer. “This was a historic moment for our sport, for Mexico, for the global motorsports community and for a lot of folks that came together to be able to make this happen.”

The big question Sunday night post-race was whether NASCAR would in fact return to Mexico City next year for an encore. Asked about it by the American NASCAR beat writers and again by members of the large international media contingent, Kennedy smiled and deferred – noting NASCAR was still working on the 2026 schedule.

But, he seemed, very pleased with the inaugural Mexico City weekend.

“We’ve been bold and innovative,” Kennedy said, mentioning recent NASCAR events at the Los Angeles Coliseum and the first ever street race in downtown Chicago as the sport’s willingness to try new venues and travel to new destinations.

“This was the next milestone moment for us bringing the race internationally.

“I can tell you, we’re very bold about continuing to bring the series internationally and Mexico is a great place to do it. This weekend is a great example of that and I would say we’re very hopeful to be back here.”

And, he added, “I think the beauty of our sport, and we’ve seen this several times over the past few years, is that no matter what’s going on outside of these four walls, outside of this race track, even outside of this country, sports can be great unifiers and NASCAR has proven that time and time again that it builds communities.

“It brings people together with shared passion and shared values. And that’s what we saw this weekend. People from all walks of life came together and watched an amazing race with the best drivers in the world, and that’s what I’m most proud of.”