WTCC grid girl adding glamour to the Yokohama ADVAN tyres
CURB ATTACK FOR YOKOHAMA ADVAN
Media information: 23 August 2007
The curbs of Oschersleben are this weekend's challenge for Yokohama ADVAN
as the tyre manufacturer heads to Germany for round 15 and 16 of the FIA
World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) and the Japanese company is ready!
The Motorsport Arena circuit is well known to WTCC drivers having featured
on the calendar ever since the Championship was instated in 2005 and the
majority agree; the track's chicane and its curbs are extremely demanding
on tyres.
As racing tyres specialists, a circuit's layout is an everyday factor for
the Yokohama ADVAN race team as Yokohama's Technical Consultant, Ian Beveridge,
explains: "Throughout a race weekend, it's the driver's job to drive
the car as fast and efficiently as possible and that sometimes leads to
the tyres hitting curbs pretty hard.
"Such impacts could lead to tyre damage but this is something that
we know long in advance and is incorporated into our development programme.
We simulate those kind of impacts when we develop the tyres and test for
endurance on severe loads to stress the casing more than we would normally
see in a race."
WTCC James Thompson racing hard on track N.Technology Alfa Romeo driver
James Thompson also believes that tyre grip will be key to racing success
in Oschersleben with the German track's combination of slow and fast corners.
"The mixture of corners means we rely heavily on tyre grip,"said
the double British Touring Car Champion. "Finding the right set-up
that works in both types of corners can be hard but having grip throughout
makes things a lot easier.
"We also have to use the curbs through the fast chicanes which can
be very hard on the tyres. The ADVAN's are very resistant though and our
car tends to be gentle on its tyres so I don't expect any problems there
for this weekend's races."
Yokohama ADVAN will also be supplying WTCC partner series International
Formula Master with control tyres this weekend in Germany.
