Hiratsuka, Japan—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announces that it has renewed its partnership agreement with KONDO RACING and will enter the SP9 class of the 2026 Nürburgring 24-Hour Race (ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring) and the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) with the Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO.

The KONDO RACING–Yokohama Rubber partnership at past Nürburgring 24-Hour Races achieved a 9th place overall finish in 2019. In 2025, KONDO RACING finished 2nd in the qualifying race and made a good showing in the final race, staying among the leaders for most of the race. In 2026, Yokohama Rubber will support KONDO RACING’s Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO as it aims for victory in the top SP9 class by running on Yokohama Rubber’s ADVAN racing tires, which deliver the superb handling performance and reliability needed to win one of the world’s most challenging endurance races.

KONDO RACING, led by team director Masahiko Kondo, is a racing powerhouse that has a strong track record in Japanese racing series, such as the Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship and SUPER GT, and some of the world's most grueling endurance races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the Nürburgring 24-Hours. Yokohama Rubber has established strong partnerships with KONDO RACING, supporting the team in both domestic and overseas races.

In addition to its partnership with KONDO RACING, Yokohama Rubber will be supplying tires to several top teams participating in this season's Nürburgring 24-Hour Race and the NLS, and aims to secure another overall championship for a car running on YOKOHAMA tires.

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.

Yokohama Rubber will post event updates and results on YOKOHAMA’s dedicated motorsports website and on our official motorsports SNS sites.

Website: https://www.y-yokohama.com/cp/motorsports/
X: https://x.com/Yokohama_sport
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YRCmotorsports/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yokohama_motorsports/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheYokohamaRubber

Class: SP9
Car: Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO
Drivers: David Perel / Dennis Marschall / Thierry Vermeulen / Thomas Neubauer
Tires:
ADVAN A005 (for dry conditions); Sizes: front 300/680R18, rear 330/710R18
ADVAN A006 (for wet conditions); Sizes: front 300/680R18, rear 320/710R18

March 14 (Sat): NLS Round 1
March 21 (Sat): NLS Round 2
April 18 (Sat) –19 (Sun): Nürburgring 24-Hour Race (Qualifiers), NLS Rounds 4 & 5
May 14 (Thu) –17 (Sun): Nürburgring 24-Hour Race