Yokohama Tire Corporation Slides into Action with 2013 Drifting Program

Tire maker will partner with three Formula Drift teams this season and spotlight tires such as the ADVAN Neova^® AD08 and S.drive^®

FULLERTON, CA (March 5, 2013) – Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC) announced today it will participate as a Formula Drift tire supplier for the second consecutive year and will partner with three teams for the 2013 season. Matt Johnson, YTC performance marketing supervisor, said drivers will run on ADVAN Neova^® AD08 and S.drive^® tires during the seven-event series, which starts April 12-13 at Round 1: Streets of Long Beach.

Two new teams will join the Yokohama family in 2013 – the GSR Autosport BMW E46 piloted by Michael Essa, and the GTNET Tomei Powered Subaru BRZ driven by Toshiki Yoshioka. The Apex-I Lexus SC430 returns from 2012 with Pat Mordaunt behind the wheel.

“Yoshioka is a veteran drift competitor who started with Yokohama in the D1 Grand Prix in Japan during 2003 and is back with Yokohama to contend for podiums once again,” said Johnson. “He is a past Formula D winner, and will compete in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for the third consecutive year.”

Nick Richards, president of GSR Autosport, said, “we have a long history with Yokohama tires that comes from years of running a broad array of road-racing programs. Yokohama has a well-earned reputation of winning at the highest levels of motorsport, and as the level of competition continues to rise in drifting, partnering with the best is critical to fielding a winning team.”

“We have a variety of marketing programs,” said Fred Koplin, YTC director of marketing communications, “from sports sponsorships to television, but Formula Drift gives us exposure to a passionate audience of young enthusiasts that may not see a lot of other marketing initiatives.”

Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a global manufacturing and sales company of premium tires since 1917. Servicing a network of more than 4,500 points of sale in the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation is a leader in technology and innovation. The company’s complete product line includes the all-new AVID Ascend^®  –  the first mass-market tire using Yokohama’s breakthrough orange oil technology – as  well as tires for high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, and off-the-road mining and construction applications. For more information on Yokohama’s extensive product line, visit www.yokohamatire.com.

Contact: Bill Groak, PCGCampbell, 424/903-3640, [email protected]

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