Yokohama Tire Corporation Sponsors Successful Off-Road Couple

One is looking to wrap up another championship while the other is trying to end the season in the top three. That is what awaits Yokohama Tire Corporation-sponsored off-roaders Heidi and Cameron Steele as they head to Ensenada, Mexico, November 19-22, for the gruelling, season-ending race at the 42nd annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Known as off-road's "power couple," the San Clemente, California-based Steeles have a lot riding on their Yokohama tires as they prepare for the legendary battle south of the border.

Heidi, who sits atop the points chart this season in Class 6, finished second in last year’s Baja 1000 having won it in 2005. Last season, she cemented her place in off-road history by being the first woman to win two major truck championships in one season – the Best in the Desert and SCORE. Heidi, who runs races on a Ford Ranger fitted with off-the-shelf Yokohama Geolandar M/T+R tyres, was named Dirt Sports magazine’s 2008 Driver of the Year, becoming the first female to win the coveted award.

Cameron, a two-time SCORE Person of the Year and TV commentator, is currently in fifth place in the prestigious Trophy Truck Class, just 29 points out of third and 31 points from second. A Baja 1000 winner in 2003, Cameron will attack the (approximately) 673 miles of treacherous terrain in his 800-horsepower Geiser Brothers Chevrolet truck, mounted with specially-engineered 37” Yokohama Geolandar A/T-SR R tyres. Other Yokohama-sponsored drivers vying for titles at Baja include Justin “Bean” Smith, who is tied for first in the 1/2-1600 Class, and the top three racers in the SCORE Lites Class: Brent Parkhouse, Rick St. John and John Langley (producer of the “Cops” TV series).

“With Cameron and Heidi leading the Yokohama charge, we have a great chance to win off-roading’s biggest prize and wrap-up a few season championships,” said Mark Chung, Yokohama director, corporate strategy and planning.