Yokohama Tire Corporation Gears Up for the 2013 Motorsports Season

/Consumer News, Motorsports

FULLERTON, CA (March 7, 2013) – From desert racing to drifting, Porsche 911 GT3 to Ferrari 458, Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC) is busy tuning up for the 2013 racing season. “This will be an exciting year,” said Andrew Briggs, YTC director of product planning and motorsports. “We have a new ALMS partner, a historic teaming in off-road and a strong, overall line-up, so we can’t wait for the season to begin.”

All told, Yokohama will participate in six race series during 2013. The series are:

American Le Mans Series (ALMS)

Leading the charge for the Fullerton, California-based tire maker is Team West Alex Job Racing, which will campaign a Ferrari 458 in the highly competitive ALMS GT class on ADVAN® A005 development tires. A new event, the Circuit of the Americas, September 19-21 in Austin, Texas, has been added to the 10-race series beginning with the legendary 12 hours of Sebring on March 16 and concluding with the historic 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, where Yokohama is the “Official Tire.” For details, visit www.yokohamatire.com/motorsports or the ALMS web site at http://www.americanlemans.com/.

Yokohama will also continue to run in the GTC Class of the ALMS on YTC’s famed orange oil-infused racing slick, the ADVAN® ENV-R2™, the series’ spec tire. A field of approximately 10 cars will compete at all ALMS events, including endurance races, such as the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. More details can be found at www.yokohamatire.com/motorsports or http://www.alms.com/schedule/2013.

2013 ALMS Schedule

March 13-16: 61st Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring; Sebring International Raceway; Sebring, Florida

April 19-20: Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach; Long Beach, California

May 9-11: American Le Mans Series Monterey; Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca; Monterey, California

July 5-6: American Le Mans Series Northeast Grand Prix; Lime Rock Park; Lakeview, Connecticut

July 19-21: Grand Prix of Mosport; Mosport International Raceway; Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada

August 9-11: Road Race Showcase; Road America; Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

August 30-31: Baltimore Grand Prix; Baltimore, Maryland

September 19-21: Circuit of the Americas; Circuit of the Americas; Austin, Texas

October 3-5: American Le Mans Series at VIR; Virginia International Raceway; Danville, Virginia

October 16-19: 16th Annual Petit Le Mans; Road Atlanta; Braselton, Georgia

IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama

Yokohama’s orange oil-infused ENV-R2 – will again be the spec tire in the eight-race IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Presented by Yokohama. The 2013 season marks the fifth consecutive year that Yokohama has been the series’ sole tire supplier. More than 30 cars are expected to vie for championships in two GT3 divisions – Platinum and Gold – at leading North American tracks, including Sebring, Road Atlanta, Circuit of the Americas and Laguna Seca.

“The ENV-R2 has proven itself time and again,” said Briggs. “It has surpassed all driver expectations from a performance standpoint.”

The series begins at Sebring, March 13-16. For details, visit http://imsachallenge.com/news/2013-imsa-gt3-cup-challenge-by-yokohama-series-schedule-released.

2013 IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama Schedule

March 13-16: Sebring International Raceway; Sebring, Florida

May 9-11: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca; Monterey, California

June 28-30: Watkins Glen International; Watkins Glen, New York

July 19-21: Mosport International Raceway; Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada

August 9-11: Road America; Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

August 29-31: Grand Prix of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland

September 19-21: Circuit of Americas; Austin, Texas

October 16-19: Road Atlanta; Braselton, Georgia

SCORE International Off-Road Racing

The big news here is Yokohama is sponsoring the first all-woman Trophy Truck driver tandem in SCORE (Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts) history: The Desert Assassins’ Heidi Steele and Jessica McMillin.

Heidi is a four-time SCORE Class champion and married to Desert Assassins teammate Cameron Steele. Jessica (of the famous off-road racing McMillin family), is new to the Desert Assassins and also a SCORE champion. Heidi and Jessica are racing in the Trophy Truck Class for the first time. They will be competing on specially-engineered 40-inch Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S® R tires mounted on their 800-horsepower Geiser Brothers truck.

Cameron Steele, a veteran Trophy Truck driver and two-time SCORE Person of the Year, will also race on Geolandar A/T-S R tires. YTC and the Desert Assassins will compete for the newly-created World Championship of Desert Racing title, which combines the three SCORE races in Mexico and four HDRA (High Desert Racing Association) events in the United States to crown the overall winner “World Champion.” Yokohama, Cameron Steele and the Desert Assassins are off to a great start in 2013 after winning the HDRA season opener at the SouthPoint 250 outside of Las Vegas in January. “Our confidence is high heading into the San Felipe 250,” said Steele. “The tires are taking everything we can throw at them and allowing us to run at a winning pace.”

The first SCORE race is the San Felipe 250, San Felipe, Baja, Mexico, March 8-10. For details, go to http://www.score-international.com/.

2013 SCORE Desert Championship Series Schedule

March 8-10: 27th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250, San Felipe, Baja, Mexico

May 31-June 2: 45th Tecate SCORE Baja 500; Ensenada, Baja, Mexico

November 14-17: 46th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000; Ensenada, Baja, Mexico

HDRA World Championship of Desert Racing

HDRA (High Desert Racing Association) owner Roger Norman purchased SCORE last summer and founded the World Championship of Desert Racing. HDRA and SCORE are operating as separate companies and will have their own season class point champions, as they have in the past. However, there will also be a combined points system to qualify for the World Championship title.

In January, Yokohama-sponsored Cameron Steele and the Desert Assassins won the 2013 HDRA season opener in Jean, Nevada on Geolandar A/T-S R tires. The next race is the HDRA 250, April 5-7 in Ridgecrest, California. For details, go to http://hdrarace.com/2013-race-schedule/.

Remaining 2013 HDRA Desert Championship Series Schedule

April 5-7: HDRA 250, Ridgecrest, California

July 12-14: Reno 500; Reno, Nevada

September 20-22: Rockin’ on the River; Laughlin, Nevada

Formula Drift

YTC returns to Formula Drift as a tire supplier for the second consecutive year. Select teams will compete on Yokohama high-performance tires such as the ADVAN Neova® AD08 and S.drive® during the season, which features seven events across the U.S. The series starts April 12-13 in Long Beach, California, utilizing a portion of the Long Beach Grand Prix race course. Details at: http://formulad.com/schedule/pro-championship/.

2013 Formula Drift Schedule

April 12-13: Street of Long Beach; Long Beach, California

May 10-11: Road to the Championship; Braselton, Georgia

May 31-June 1: Invasion; Palm Beach, Florida

June 21-22: The Gauntlet; Wall, New Jersey

July 19-20: Throwdown; Monroe, Washington

September 13-14: Showdown; Fort Worth, Texas

October 11-12: Title Fight; Irwindale, California

Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a global manufacturing and sales company of premium tires since 1917. Servicing a network of more than 4,500 points of sale in the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation is a leader in technology and innovation. The company’s complete product line includes the all-new AVID Ascend® – the first mass-market tire using Yokohama’s breakthrough orange oil technology – as well as tires for high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, and off-the-road mining and construction applications. For more information on Yokohama’s extensive product line, visit www.yokohamatire.com.

Connect with Yokohama Tire Corporation:

www.facebook.com/yokohamatirecorp

www.twitter.com/yokohamatc

Yokohama YouTube Channel

Yokohama is a strong supporter of the tire care and safety guidelines established by the Rubber Manufacturers Association and the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration. Details can be found at the “Tire Care & Safety” section at www.yokohamatire.com.

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