Tokyo – Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that it will supply its global flagship “ADVAN” brand racing tire as the control tire for this year’s Sepang 12 Hours, an endurance race to be run on Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit from December 8 to 11. The control tires will be the “ADVAN A005” and the “ADVAN A006” for use on wet surfaces. Both tires make use of YOKOHAMA’s proprietary orange oil compounding technique to ensure superior grip performance while enhancing environmental performance.

Yokohama Rubber is particularly proud to be selected as the supplier of control tires for the race as this year marks the first time that all cars participating in the Sepang 12 Hours endurance race will be run on control tires supplied by a single tiremaker. In past years, participating racing teams could freely choose tires supplied by several designated tiremakers. Nonetheless, cars running on YOKOHAMA tires have captured the overall championship five years in a row since 2011. Yokohama Rubber’s selection as the sole tire supplier for this year’s race reflects the race organizers’ high evaluation of the performance of YOKOHAMA tires, not just at previous Sepang 12 Hours races but also at top-class races around the world, including the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).

The Sepang 12 Hours was until 2013 known as the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race. The race has taken on a more international flavor in recent years, as teams from Europe have joined those from Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Thailand, and East Asian countries, such as Japan, China and Taiwan, and Australia in vying for positions on the winners’ podium. A wide range of machines in several racing car categories, from sports cars to low-exhaust touring cars, compete in the Sepang 12 Hours, with the top category being FIA-GT3 machines. From this year, SUPER GT GT300 class machines will also be allowed to participate, raising expectations for an even more exciting race.