June 2008

Superb result at Nürburgring
Yokohama enjoyed what can only be described as a superb result at this year's Nürburgring 24 Hour race at the famous Nordschleife circuit. The two works Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24s achieved their objective, with one car completing the race in 18th place overall and the other in 27th, taking first and third in their class. And no less than 25% of the field used the manufacturer's tyres, with two of the three overall podium positions being filled with Yokohama-shod cars.
This year's event saw a typically huge field of 207 cars start the race, which was punctuated with rainstorms and wet weather, making tyre selection and driving conditions extremely difficult.
The result was significant as the race began the day after Aston Martin opened its new, dedicated workshop facility at the circuit. Situated opposite its tyre partner Yokohama's own unit, this allows the marque to develop its range of products and where appropriate, in conjunction with Yokohama.
The overall statistics for Yokohama ADVAN were equally impressive. 53 of the 207 starters were running the company's tyres. Half of the top ten used ADVAN tyres, including second and third overall. 39 of the 53 starters on Yokohama ADVAN tyres finished the event and the winner in nine of the classes were also fitted with Yokohama tyres - an outstanding achievement at one of the world's most arduous races.

Next generation WTCC
World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) drivers have universally praised the performance of Yokohama ADVAN tyres in the hard-fought competition, but resounding success has not stopped the Japanese manufacturer from preparing the WTCC's next generation tyre already.
Yokohama is confirmed as the WTCCís official tyre supplier until the end of 2009, the manufacturer is not resting on the success of its current racing tyre. In the background, development work is already underway on the next generation of performance rubber. When the current tender ends in 2009, the ADVAN design used in today's WTCC will be three years old. Should the FIA and WTCC teams decide to use a different specification tyre, Yokohama will already have developed options, in line with touring car changes, and be ready to manufacture their latest product.
As the WTCC field, together with partner series Formula Master that also runs on ADVANs, headed for the first street circuit of the season in Pau, France, Yokohama tyre engineer Mr Watanabe explained the Japanese company's philosophy behind the 2009 developments.
"Developing the WTCC tyre is a constant evolution at Yokohama, said Watanabe. "We hope to win the 2010 tender as we have done for the past two years and in order to be prepared we have started work already.
"Touring cars evolve each year as do their counterpart road cars. As part of our development, we are already considering a range of variables, which we are investigating. Tests are already scheduled to work on some of our initial ideas; everything is about being pro-active so that we are ready when the time comes."

Support for MK Dons
The MK Dons, supported by the UK distributor of Yokohama high-performance tyres, Yokohama HPT Ltd, has achieved its objective for its first season based at the impressive stadiumMK ground.
The MK Dons dominated League 2 and were crowned Champions following the final match of the season against Morecombe, in front of a capacity crowd.
The 2007/8 season was the first for Yokohama HPT as club partners to the MK Dons team, which has as its manager former England and Manchester United Captain Paul Ince. Clearly Ince's experience and expertise paid off, as the team took 29 league wins throughout the season, to secure the title.
Commenting on the news, Yokohama HPT Managing Director, David Seward, said; "We are delighted to congratulate MK Dons on their success this season. Winning the double is a superb result both for the club and local community. Paul Ince's management of the team has obviously worked perfectly and we could not have hoped for a better result in our first season in partnership with the MK Dons."