Hiratsuka, Japan - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., is pleased to announce that a car running on its ADVAN global flagship brand tires was the overall winner of Round 4 of the 2024 Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie (NLS) held in Germany on August 3. As part of the ADVAN CHALLENGE that seeks to maximize sales of ADVAN tires, Yokohama Rubber is aiming to win the series, one of the most severe tire competitions in the world, and this victory further strengthens the impression of ADVAN brand tires and their excellent performance.

The winning car was the #9 Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered in the highest SP9 Pro class by Team ADVAN×HRT, and driven by Salman Owega, David Schumacher and Hubert Haupt. After they finished third in the qualifier, the race was interrupted for nearly two hours due to an accident caused by rain at the start of the race. Upon resumption, the #9 Mercedes-AMG GT3 started as leader, After that, they received a penalty and dropped back, but at the completion of 10 laps, they were in the lead again and took the checkered flag about three and a half minutes ahead of the second placed car. Team ADVAN×HRT’s #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3, which also entered the SP9 Pro class, took second place in the qualifier, but dropped out of the final race due to an accident during the qualifier.

This season, Yokohama Rubber concluded a partnership agreement with the Haupt Racing Team, a Mercedes-AMG customer racing team, and has supplied the team with ADVAN A005 tires for dry conditions and ADVAN A006 tires for wet conditions for their two Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars since the third NLS race.

The NLS is an endurance race series run on the Nürburgring race track, widely considered the world’s most demanding course. Six NLS races are scheduled for this year, running until November. At last year’s NLS, a car running on YOKOHAMA tires captured the NLS Speed Trophy and the NIMEX Team Trophy in the NLS’ highest SP9 Pro class.

The consumer tire strategy in Yokohama Rubber’s three-year (2024–2026) medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2026 (YX2026), aims to maximize the sales ratios of high-value-added tires by expanding sales of YOKOHAMA’s global flagship ADVAN brand, the GEOLANDAR brand of tires for SUVs and pickup trucks, winter tires, and 18-inch and larger tires. Yokohama Rubber positions participation in motorsports activities as crucial to its effort to further strengthen the ADVAN and GEOLANDAR brands. Yokohama Rubber therefore is again participating in a wide variety of motorsports events around the globe, from top-category to grassroots events.