Tokyo - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that a vehicle fitted with its ADVAN racing tires took first overall in the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race 2011 (MMER), a 12-hour race run September 16-17 at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. Supporting the victory, the ADVAN tires demonstrated the advantage of their superior wear resistance on a course with a hot, relatively rough road surface.

The overall title was won by Car No. 15 (drivers: Nobuteru Taniguchi/Masataka Yanagida/Dominic Ang) of the Petronas Syntium Team, debuting a new machine, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.　Running smoothly but aggressively, it made a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the final 20 minutes. Car No. 28 from the same team (drivers: Tatsuya Kataoka/Fariqe Hairuman/Bernd Schneider) came in third overall, while Team Tracy Sports finished third in the Sports Production Class with its Honda S2000 Type S, for which Yokohama Rubber also provided tires.

Launched in 2000, the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race is held every summer to celebrate the independence of Malaysia. It draws increased attention every year as more and more of the world's top endurance teams and drivers participate. This year, approximately 50 cars took part from Asia, Europe and Australia.