Hiratsuka, Japan—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., is pleased to announce that a car fitted with its global flagship ADVAN brand tires finished first in the GT500 class in Round 3 of the 2023 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Series, Japan’s ultimate touring car racing series. Round 3 was held at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture on June 3–4. The ADVAN tires’ high performance supported the winning team as it raced to victory, achieving the long-awaited GT500 class win for an ADVAN-equipped car that Yokohama Rubber was aiming for during this year’s ADVAN CHALLENGE, which seeks to maximize sales of ADVAN tires during the brand’s 45th year.

The winning car was TGR TEAM WedsSport BANDOH’s WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra (Yuji Kunimoto/Sena Sakaguchi). After finishing second in the qualifying round on Saturday, the WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra battled for the top spot in the early stages of Sunday’s final and was in first place after all GT500 class cars had finished their first pit stop. The team maintained a solid pace in the latter half of the race but, after it had completed its second pit stop on lap 46, an accident on lap 58 brought out a red flag ending the race. After a review, WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra was declared the GT500 class winner.

SUPER GT’s GT500 class, in which many automaker works teams participate, also is a fierce competition among tire makers battling in a high-level race. To demonstrate the excellent performance of its ADVAN tires and strengthen its brand power, Yokohama Rubber is supporting a number of racing teams aiming for victories in top-class races around the world, such as the SUPER GT’s GT 500 class and the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race. In last year’s SUPER GT races, GT500 class cars running on ADVAN tires took the pole position in five of the eight races, demonstrating ADVAN tires’ excellent performance. The GT500 class victory in the final of this year’s Round 3 further highlights the strength of YOKOHAMA’s ADVAN brand.

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. Yokohama Rubber is supplying tires for 18 cars competing in this year’s SUPER GT, including 2 GT500 class cars and 16 GT300 class machines.