The Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games tested the zero-emission competition at Le Mans.
On the occasion of the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Amélie Oudea-Castera, the Minister, was able to discover the legend of this race, its aura, as well as its future: a carbon-free competition. Hydrogen technology is the strategy developed by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, organizer of the Le Mans Classic to participate in the energy transition, which is crucial today.
On display since Monday at the H2 Village, the LMPH2G, pioneer and inspiration of the other hydrogen vehicles present in this space (Toyota GR H2 Racing Concept, Alpine Alpenglow, Foenix H2 from Solution F, Ligier JS2 RH2 Bosch Engineering) went into action mode this Saturday , taking to the track shortly after 12:20 p.m. Leaving from Maison Blanche and piloted by Stéphane Richelmi, it completed a lap of the mythical 24 Hours route, with the Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Amélie Oudea-Castera, as a passenger. For the latter, the discovery was total: 1st visit to the 24 Hours circuit, 1st experience in a hydrogen electric racing prototype.
“The recipe for success of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a model that combines sport, history, popular passion and technological and environmental challenges. I am delighted to have taken part for the first time in this event, which promotes France internationally, maintains close relations with its local fabric, offers a wonderful playground for pilots and brings happiness every year. spectators. From the pioneers who tested the reliability of cars to the real athletes who challenge themselves today on its asphalt, the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit has always been the scene of historic moments, honoring the values of performance, strategy, of ingenuity, endurance, self-transcendence and teamwork. Mechanical sport is proactively preparing its future and the future of mobility, by committing to the decarbonization of its events and its competitions, like the hydrogen electric prototype that I was able to test, and which constitutes a promising avenue for achieving the goal of zero-emission motorsport. Congratulations to the ACO and the 24 Hours for having set up this technological laboratory, and I would like to thank Stéphane Richelmi, my driver during this baptism. »
To welcome this particular Rookie and introduce her to MissionH24, a program in collaboration between the ACO and GreenGT, with a view to creating a category dedicated to hydrogen prototypes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Pierre Fillon, the President of the ACO and Christophe Ricard, president of GreenGT, as well as Jean-Michel Bouresche, director of operations, Bernard Niclot, director of innovation, and the entire H24Racing team. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the FIA President, was present, as well as partners and elected officials.
“We wanted to demonstrate to the Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the commitment of Endurance in the decarbonization of competition but also of mobility. Car competition and decarbonization are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary. The deployment of hydrogen requires, as for any new technology or energy vector, a harmonization of the rules, a subject that we wanted to bring to the minister. Receiving her for the centenary of our ordeal allowed her to discover our history and our future ambitions » declared Pierre Fillon.
The Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games also had the opportunity to discuss with Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota. The world’s leading car manufacturer reaffirmed its hydrogen strategy at Le Mans, unveiling Friday morning during the official ACO conference, the GR H2 Racing Concept, a project intended to integrate the future hydrogen category of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (exhibited at the Village Hydrogen). For the first time in France, the Toyota Corolla H2 presented itself to the public, evolving over the famous 13.6 kilometres, with Akio Toyoda, at the wheel, a few hours before his drivers, in contention for victory tomorrow at 4 p.m. hours.
A few minutes before the start of the centenary race, the H24, the first hydrogen electric racing car (it competed in and finished four events in 2022) of the MissionH24 program, punctuated this hydrogen sequence, with a lap of honor before this magnificent plateau 2023 sets off for 24 hours of high competition, in front of a very attentive spectator, the Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games
