News Release

Yokohama Rubber participating in the King of the Hammers, a U.S. offroad race

2023.February.03

  • Motor sports relation

Hiratsuka, Japan—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announces that cars equipped with its GEOLANDAR off-road tires for SUVs and pickup trucks will be racing in the annual King of the Hammers off-road race being held in California during February 4–11. Yokohama Rubber is supplying its mud-terrain GEOLANDAR M/T G003 tire or a special race version based on that tire to more than 30 teams.

The King of the Hammers, which is the season opener for the year-long Ultra4 National Series racing tour, combines desert racing and rock crawling, and is considered the one of the toughest off-road races in the world. Yokohama Rubber is participating in all four-wheel class races held during the week-long event. Race-version GEOLANDAR M/T G003 tires are being supplied to veteran Levi Shirley and father and son team Brian and Chayse Caprara competing in the Unlimited 4400 class. All other drivers are being supplied with production spec GEOLANDAR M/T G003 tires for the replacement tire market.

GEOLANDAR M/T G003 tires deliver superior performance on the full range of off-road surfaces over an exceptionally long lifespan. In addition, the tire features a sturdy and aggressive design that enhances the off-road driving sensation. YOKOHAMA’s GEOLANDAR tires have delivered their superior off-road performance in many races over the years, including capturing the overall championship in the Asia Cross Country Rally 2022, Asia’s largest cross-country rally, as well as class championships at the 35th SCORE SAN FELIPE 250 held in Mexico and the 2022 Method Race Wheels “Casey Folks” Vegas to Reno, part of the 2022 Best In The Desert series, the ultimate off-road racing series in North America.

Under Yokohama Rubber’s three-year (2021–2023) medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2023 (YX2023), the consumer tire business aims to maximize the sales ratios of high-value-added YOKOHAMA tires, namely the global flagship ADVAN brand, the GEOLANDAR brand of tires for SUVs and pickup trucks, and various winter tires. YX2023 also positions participation in motorsports activities as crucial to the company’s effort to develop new tire technologies that will further strengthen the ADVAN and GEOLANDAR brands. Yokohama Rubber therefore is again participating in a wide variety of motorsports events in Japan and around the globe, from top-category to grassroots events.

※Click photo to download high-resolution image for printing.

※Click photo to download high-resolution image for printing.

Levi Shirley’s four-wheeler competing in the Unlimited 4400 class

Levi Shirley’s four-wheeler competing in the Unlimited 4400 class