Yokohama renews Geolandar tyre supply deal with Team Mitsubishi Ralliart in Asia Cross Country Rally

Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003 mud-terrain tyres for SUVs and pickup trucks (Photo: Yokohama)

Yokohama will supply its Geolandar M/T G003 mud-terrain tyres for SUVs and pickup trucks to Team Mitsubishi Ralliart in the 2023 Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR), as the team seeks to replicate last year’s overall title on Yokohama rubber. Asia’s largest cross-country rally is scheduled for 13-19 August.

Yokohama’s Geolandar M/T G003 tyres offer superior performance across all off-road surfaces and an exceptionally long lifespan, the tyre manufacturer says. The tyre features a sturdy and aggressive design to achieve high performance off-highway. Yokohama’s Geolandar brand tyres are widely used in global motorsport, demonstrating their quality on the most demanding off-road races in Asia, North America, and other regions. The Geolandar series is the off-road counterpart to Yokohama’s asphalt-based Advan range. The two product series are the cornerstones of Yokohama’s global strategy, using the company’s latest tyre technologies, often tested in motorsport. Yokohama wants to maximise sales of these high-value product ranges, often using motorsport to develop and showcase its latest products in both ranges.

The privateer Team Mitsubishi Ralliart is operated by Tant Sports of Thailand with technical support from Mitsubishi Motors Corporation. In its first AXCR last year, the team entered three Yokohama Geolandar-equipped Tritons, Mitsubishi Motors’ global strategic model one-ton pickup truck, picking up fifth place alongside its overall victory. In 2023, the team will enter three new Triton Group T1s (prototype cross-country vehicles) driven by last year’s champion Chayapon Yotha, fifth place finisher Rifat Sungkar and new driver Katsuhiko Taguchi. Yokohama will also support several other teams from various countries at this year’s AXCR.

First held in 1996, AXCR is a Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) officially sanctioned race, similar to the Dakar Rally. In recent years, the AXCR has been run over a different course each year, with the starting line in Thailand and then passing through many Southeast Asian countries as it winds through a diverse range of terrains, from mountains and jungles to beaches and plantations, and even race circuits. This year’s rally will start in Thailand and finish some 2,000km away in Laos.