The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., have announced that its US subsidiary Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC) will be supplying Advan racing tyres, including the Advan A005 (for dry conditions) racing tyres using sustainable materials, to more than 26 cars competing in six divisions of the 101st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb to be held in Colorado, USA, on June 25.
As part of this year’s Advan Challenge, which seeks to maximise sales of Advan tyres during the global flagship brand’s 45th year, Yokohama Rubber is aiming for a second straight overall championship at Pikes Peak, as well as victories in all divisions. At the same time, Yokohama Rubber is continuing its effort to create a sustainable motorsports industry.
Yokohama Rubber will be supplying its Advan A005 racing tyres partially made from sustainable materials to Robin Shute, last year’s overall champion. The supplied tyres made using sustainable materials will have the same a 33% sustainable materials ratio* as the tyres being supplied as the control tyre for this year’s Japanese Super Formula Championship series, where the tyres have demonstrated the same excellent grip performance of standard tyres used in Super Formula races.
In addition, the Advan A005 tyres being supplied to Randy Pobst, who will be competing in the Exhibition Division in his 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid, have an elevated share of recyclable materials as the petroleum-derived butadiene rubber previously used in the sidewall, the part of the tyre that changes shape the most when the vehicle is moving, has been replaced by biomass-derived butadiene rubber. Using these tyres in harsh hill climb conditions will enable Yokohama Rubber to acquire new knowledge about the tyres and further accelerate the development of technologies that will reduce tyres’ environmental impact.
Among the many other drivers that Yokohama Rubber is supporting this year are Codie Vahsholtz, who won the Open Wheel Division in 2022, and David Donohue in the Time Attack 1 Division. In addition, Yokohama Rubber will be supplying its Advan A052 as the control tyre for the Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama Division for six years in a row, in which all entrants race in Porsches, such as the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a hill climb race with a long and illustrious history dating back to 1916. It is also known as the “Race to the Clouds”, as the course starts at 2,862 meters above sea level and covers about 20 kilometres before reaching the finish line at an altitude of 4,300 meters. Cars equipped with Yokohama tyres captured the overall championship in 2020 and 2022 and were victors in two divisions in 2021.
The company’s development of high-performance and top-quality tyres for new cars and the replacement market benefits from the technologies accumulated through its participation in a wide variety of motorsports events in Japan and around the globe, from top-category races to grassroots races.
Yokohama Rubber is also promoting sustainability initiatives based on the concept of “Caring for the Future.” The company believes that conducting its business activities aligned with these sustainability initiatives will help resolve social issues and lead to the continued increase of its corporate value. One goal of Yokohama Rubber’s sustainability initiatives is to contribute to the realisation of a circular economy. Toward that end, Yokohama Rubber aims to increase the ratio of renewable and recyclable materials used by the company to more than 30% of total materials used by 2030 and then raise that ratio to 100% in 2050.
