Yokohama - WTCC control tyre supplier until 2012
Yokohama will continue to be the official tyre supplier of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) until the end of the 2012 season after being appointed by the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC).
The Japanese-based rubber manufacturer have been the championship’s sole tyre supplier since the 2006 season and will continue to supply the control tyre in the WTCC for the next three years in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Yokohama’s General Motorsports Manager Akinori Tokieda said; “Working with the WTCC is a great challenge for us. This is a very close fought championship, with different kinds of cars. And because these racing cars are closely derived from the standard production models, eventually many ideas from the race tyres find their way into production road tyres.
This news comes as the WTCC prepares to celebrate its 100th race at the Circuito da Boavista which plays host to the championships Race of Portugal on 5th July.
Chevy achieved their first triple victory at the Circuito da Boavista in 07
Ray Mallock’s Chevrolet squad, who achieved their first triple victory at the Porto circuit in 2007, are hoping to mark this important milestone in the championship’s history by adding to the Cruze’s impressive record on street-style circuits. Rob Huff moved to the WTCC with Chevrolet in 2006 when the series was conceived. He said;
“Porto is a place close to everybody’s heart at Chevrolet, because of our first triple victory in 2007, and we are all excited to be back there. Given what shown by the Cruze on street circuits this year, I think we should perform very well and, provided we qualify well, we can aim at very good results.”
Nicola Larini, Huff’s team-mate in the series, said the Chevy team go to Porto with confidence;
“We know that we can be competitive there and that we can achieve some good results. Still, we do not control all variables and we will have to be extremely focused since the first minute of testing. I personally like the circuit, as it is fast and technical, and it is one of the few street circuits offering some good overtaking points”.
