On November 13, at Okayama International Circuit, Mazda announced that it will compete in this year’s Super Taikyu final round with a Demio SKYACTIV-D 1.5 that uses next-generation biodiesel fuel. The car, No. 37 of Team NOPRO, will compete in the ST-Q class as the “MAZDA SPIRIT RACING Bio concept DEMIO”.

 

With the aim of promoting the use of next-generation biodiesel fuel to achieve carbon neutrality, the team will use 100% bio-derived next-generation biodiesel fuel made from used cooking oil and microalgae fats and oils in Car 37, which is equipped with a conventional 1.5L SKYACTIV-D engine. This fuel, Susteo, was supplied by Euglena Co., Ltd. and the team is planning to continue participating in the 2022 season with vehicles using this fuel.

 

Team NOPRO’s No. 37 DJ Demio SKY-D made its debut in the ST-5 class of the Super Taikyu Series in 2015, and with its excellent fuel efficiency, it won the Suzuka round in 2016, the Fuji 10 Hours in 2017, the Suzuka 5 Hours in 2019, and the Fuji 24 Hours in 2020. The car showed its strength mainly in long-hour races. This time, in addition to regular drivers Yutaka Seki and Kaoru Ijiri, Ikuo Maeda and Kazuhiro Terakawa will be at the wheel. The ST-Q class, in which car No. 37 competes, is a class for vehicles developed by automobile manufacturers, and Toyota’s hydrogen Corolla has attracted much attention. The engine of the No. 37 Demio SKY-D remains unchanged, but the ECU has been tuned (reprogrammed) to be suitable for racing on next-generation biofuels. As a result, it has been confirmed that the engine performance is equivalent to that of conventional fuels.

 

The final 3-hour race of the Super Taikyu series will be held at Okayama International Circuit. The official qualifying session will be held on the afternoon of the 13th, and the race will start at 8:00am on Sunday, the 14th. The race will be broadcast live on YouTube via the Super Taikyu Series website.

 

On the 13th, representatives from five automakers, Toyota, Mazda, Subaru, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Yamaha Motor, made an announcement about “further expansion of the use of internal combustion engines to achieve carbon neutrality.

 

“Mazda believes that it is important to offer a variety of options to achieve carbon neutrality. To this end, Mazda is expanding its powertrain lineup by introducing PHEV models in addition to its existing HEV, diesel engine and BEV models, and is also working with like-minded partners on renewable fuels such as biofuels. The “MAZDA SPIRIT RACING Bio concept DEMIO” equipped with the SKYACTIV-D 1.5 diesel engine, which uses 100% bio-based diesel fuel supplied by Euglena Co. In the future, we will continue to compete in various environments and conditions. We will continue to conduct demonstration tests in a variety of environments and conditions to help expand the use of next-generation biodiesel fuel.”

 

According to the announcement, Toyota Motor Corporation will enter the Super Taikyu Series with the GR86 biomass gasoline car in addition to the hydrogen Corolla. Subaru has also announced that it will enter the Super Taikyu series with its BRZ biomass gasoline car. Similarly, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. will begin to jointly study the use of hydrogen engines in motorcycles.

 

Text and Photos by MAZDA & MZRacing