Polski
Team Tras Power 135 TRD Hilux competes this week in the 2025 Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR) in Thailand. This is the fourth challenge for the team, with this year’s drivers being Masanao Nitta and Takayuki Monma.
The natural fibre bodywork of the rally car holds up incredibly well and manages to withstand the challenging and rough conditions during the tough racing where human and machine are pushed to the limits. This year, the team has decided to renew its vehicle by having a natural-coloured visible designed flax-based bodywork.
Before the rally, driver & Tras CEO Masanao Nitta commented: “This year, a new natural coloured natural fibre Bcomp body will be implemented into the bodywork of the vehicle. Based on the positive experience of the last years, we have confidence in the natural fibres and have applied new finishes of the bodywork. The AXCR 2025 will again be a long-distance rally with extreme road conditions, so car maintenance and care by the TRD crew will be key. The team will work together to reach this goal with Tras Power 135 TRD Hilux.”
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The Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR) 2025 is the 30th edition of the largest FIA-certified cross-country rally in Asia. Held annually since 1996, it tests driving skills, navigation, endurance, and vehicle durability across diverse terrains like jungles, swamps, river crossings, and mountains. The 2025 event is set to be particularly grueling, with an extended eight-day course covering approximately 2,500 km, starting on August 8 and ending on August 16, 2025.
Mr. Nitta is the founder and CEO of the Japanese Advanced Composite Materials Specialist company Tras Ltd. and is an experienced driver. For the AXCR, Tras developed a unique natural fibre composite body for the 2025 Toyota HiLux GR Sport Australia-Specific Design.
Flax fibre composites provided by Bcomp
Bcomp Ltd. supports the Tras Power 135 TRD Hilux team as a materials sponsor. The team already successfully completed the AXCR rally in the T1D class in 2022 with a Special Award for the use of sustainable natural fibre materials. Even more, our team proved its competitiveness with a top-ten ranking in 2023. This accomplishment has earned the trust of natural fiber composite products , and major Japanese automakers have begun using natural fiber products. Tras continues to work with them to develop other motorsports parts made from natural fibers. The parts with flax-based ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ by Bcomp Ltd. have a CO2 reduction from cradle to gate up to 85% compared to parts made purely of carbon. We look forward to our future work to achieve new goals in sustainable motorsport.
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Original BCOMP article: Click here
All images © Tras Ltd.
