Among our domestic motor sport activities this year, the one that arouses the highest interest is Super GT. For the first time since 2008, two Yokohama equipped GT500 cars compete in the championship and go for the series title.

In the GT300 class, many teams continue to use the ADVAN racing tires and the expectation of back-to-back titles by the ADVAN equipped teams are high.

As for single seater races, Yokohama is in charge of supplying the official tires for the Japanese F3 championship from this year on. This means most of middle formulae in Japan are now run on the controlled tires supplied by Yokohama and the star drivers in the future will be developed with our products.

On this page, we would like to introduce you our motor sport activities in Japan.

For the first time since 2008, two Yokohama equipped GT500 cars compete in the 2011 Super GT series, aiming at the championship title.

ADVAN Kondo Racing has been a regular contender in the Super GT series since 2006. After scoring a podium finish in the first year, the team has claimed a victory every year since its second season. Remarkably, they won in the season opener for two years running, in 2009 and 2010, and another good result in the opening round is expected again this year. Hironobu Yasuda and newly joined Bjorn Wirdheim drive the team's Nissan GT-R.

Racing Project BANDOH is a newcomer in the GT500 class but the team had been a strong competitor in the GT300 class for years. They claimed the championship title in 1997, the first year in Super GT for them, before repeating the feat in 2009. Their most famous race win was the one that was achieved from the back end of the starting grids in 2008. The team now moves to the GT500 class and run a Lexus SC430 with Tatsuya Kataoka, who contributed to their championship in 2009, and Seiji Ara at the wheel.

The GT300 class offers the battles between a wide variety of cars. This year, Yokohama supplies the ADVAN racing tires for as many as 18 out of 26 cars which listed on the recently released official championship registration. We continue our technical support to retain the championship title within the ADVAN equipped teams.

The 2011 Japanese Rally Championship consists of eight rounds that are held in various venues from Hokkaido to Kyushu. ADVAN PIAA Rally Team aims to regain the championship in the top level JN4 class. In addition, Yokohama supplies its range of rally tires to a number of users, including CUSCO Racing which resumes a full scale activity in the championship after a three year absence.

This year, JRC has more gravel events than before and this fact boosts the expectation of ADVAN equipped cars' success. As a new breed of rally car, Proton's Satria Neo imported from Malaysia also attracts much media attention.

Last year, the ADVAN equipped cars won six out of 11 classes of All Japan Gymkhana Championship. Continuing tire supply to the championship contenders, Yokohama aims at earning more success than that of the 2010 season by fully utilizing the superb performance of ADVAN A050 tires.

Looking back the 2010 season, Yusaku Shibata and Kiyoshi Tenma won back-to-back titles in the N3 and SA3 classes respectively and Masahiko Tanimori gained the SC class championship for nine consecutive years.

For 2011, the new tire regulation for the PN class means that ADVAN NEOVA AD08 can perform well in the class. The 2011 Japanese Gymkhana Championship starts with its opening round at Suzuka Circuit South Course on March 27th.

All Japan Dirt Trial Championship contains eight events this year. With Auto Park Imajyo in Fukui Prefecture, the venue of last year's JAF Cup, newly added to the calendar, the championship tours across Japan from Hokkaido to Kyushu, just as Japanese rally and gymkhana championships do, staging exciting competitions.

This year, Yokohama plans to introduce the tuned up version of loose surface competition tire ADVAN A035 which already has an established reputation for its performance. Along with further improvement in performance, the range is to be expanded with new sizes.

Among the ADVAN equipped drivers, Toshiyuki Yatagawa was crowned as the SC class champion last year. We continue to supply tires for the championship and make effort to earn more titles this season.

Yokohama provides the ADVAN Eco Racing Tires to the Super Taikyu series and Honda Exciting Cup Onemake Race - Civic series, as the official tire supplier.

From 2011, the Super Taikyu series introduce a new class, ST-X, for which the FIA GT3 cars are eligible. Consequently, the series features a wide variety of competition cars, from the GT3 machines to the touring cars based on small family sedans. With an Asian round in Korea joining its calendar, the 21st season for the series that started as the N1 Endurance series should become a year of great progress.

As for domestic single seater races, Yokohama supplies the official tires for the Japanese F3 championship from 2011. Utilizing the technologies and knowledge accumulated in Macau Grand Prix and foreign championships, we are confident to provide the sound 'shoes' of Japanese F3 championship.

With F3 leading the list, now many of domestic middle formulae in Japan, such as F4, Super-FJ and FJ1600, are run on the controlled tires supplied by Yokohama. Therefore, a wide range of racing drivers, from the promising stars in the future to the gentlemen who enjoy motor sport as a hobby, rely on the ADVAN racing tires.

[UPDATE : 22.Mar.2011]