Yokohama Supplying Tyres to Macau GP for 27th Consecutive Year

Yokohama Rubber’s supply of tyres to the Macau Grand Prix on November 19 to 22 marks the 27th consecutive year in which it has done so. As part of the weekend’s activities in Macau, the company will also support the final race of the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship series and other races. A total of about 2,500 tyres will be supplied.

First held in 1954, the Macau Grand Prix is the oldest motor race in Asia. Using the public roads of Macau, the overall event comprises the F3 Macau Grand Prix, the final WTCC race of the year (a concurrent event since the 2005 season, with Yokohama Rubber supplying one-make tyres since 2006) plus the Motorcycle Grand Prix. The centrepiece, though, is the F3 Macau Grand Prix, a gathering of the top F3 racers from all over the world – Yokohama comments that this is known as the race that decides the world’s top F3 drivers. As it did last year, Yokohama Rubber will supply its ECO racing tyres.

As for the WTCC, it has been decided that Yokohama will supply tyres at least through to 2012. The company reports it has improved the environmental performance of its wet surface tyres since the last season, and as of next season its dry surface tyres will possess the same specifications. Yokohama is, it says, accelerating the development of racing tyres offering superior environmental performance as part of its “Medium-Range Management Plan: Grand Design 100”, in which it outlined the aim of making all Yokohama products “environmentally sound” by the 2017 financial year.