Yokohama Advan shod GT500 racer wins at Suzuka

The TGR Team WedsSport Bandoh’s WedsSport Advan GR Supra of Yuji Kunimoto and Sena Sakaguchi won in the GT500 class in round three of Japan’s 2023 Autobacs Super GT Series, giving tyre supplier Yokohama and its flagship Advan brand a long-awaited victory. The third round of the country’s premier touring cars series was hosted by the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture on 3–4 June. Yokohama has positioned Advan as headline sponsor of the series, and targeted victories on its rubber to maximise the impact of this sponsorship. Yokohama’s corporate strategy in the passenger car tyre market is to increase sales of its high performance products for premium vehicles, chasing the generally higher margins offered at this end of the market.

After finishing second in the qualifying round on Saturday, the WedsSport Advan GR Supra battled for the top spot in the early stages of Sunday’s final and was in first place after all GT500 class cars had finished their first pit stop. The team maintained a solid pace in the latter half of the race but, after it had completed its second pit stop on lap 46, an accident on lap 58 brought out a red flag ending the race. After a review, WedsSport Advan GR Supra was declared the GT500 class winner.

Super GT’s GT500 class, in which many automaker works teams participate, offers fierce competition among tyre manufacturers. Yokohama states that it wants to demonstrate the excellent performance of its Advan tyres and strengthen its brand power through its support of a number of racing teams aiming for victories in top-class races around the world. In last year’s Super GT races, GT500 class cars running on Advan tyres took the pole position in five of the eight races, demonstrating the tyres’ performance. The manufacturer says the GT500 class victory in the final of this year’s Round 3 further highlights the strength of its Advan range.

Motorsport is a key part of Yokohama’s product development and marketing strategies, specifically to strengthen its Advan UHP tyre and Geolandar 4×4 tyre brands. Yokohama Rubber therefore is again participating in a wide variety of motorsports events in Japan and around the globe, from top category to grassroots events. Yokohama Rubber is supplying tires for 18 cars competing in this year’s Super GT, including 2 GT500 class cars and 16 GT300 class machines.