The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has recently announced its motorsports activity plan for 2025. The company’s consumer tire strategy aims to maximize the sales ratios of high-value-added YOKOHAMA tire brands, namely the global flagship ADVAN brand, the GEOLANDAR brand of tires for SUVs and pickup trucks, and various winter tires. Yokohama Rubber positions participation in motorsports activities as crucial to its efforts to develop new tire technologies that will further strengthen the ADVAN and GEOLANDAR brands. The company therefore is again participating in a wide variety of motorsports events around the globe, from top-category to grassroots events.

Continuing the ADVAN CHALLENGE aimed at maximizing sales of ADVAN tires, Yokohama Rubber will be supplying tires with a higher ratio of renewable and recycled raw materials as the control tires for the Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship series while also supplying tires to teams competing in many other world-class races, including Japan’s SUPER GT, the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race, and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Yokohama Rubber aims to stand out amid this strong competition by winning even more races than last year. Yokohama Rubber also is continuing its efforts to realize sustainable motorsports by providing motorsports tires made on a dedicated production line at its Mishima Plant, which is powered by 100% renewable energy. Yokohama Rubber will also supply its GEOLANDAR tires to teams participating in leading off-road races in North America and Asia, including the Baja 1000, King of the Hammers, The Mint 400, and the Asia Cross Country Rally. Yokohama Rubber expects its GEOLANDAR tires contribution to winning these challenging off-road races will raise recognition and enhance the reputation of the GEOLANDAR brand around the world.

Following is a list of the main events Yokohama Rubber will be participating in this year. We will post event updates and results on YOKOHAMA’s dedicated motorsports website and on our official motorsports SNS sites.

Formula Races

Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship Series

YOKOHAMA tires have been the control tires for the Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship series since 2016. This year, Yokohama Rubber is supplying tires for both dry and wet conditions that have an average ratio of approximately 46% renewable and recycled raw materials as the series’ control tire. While aiming to raise the ratio of renewable and recycled raw materials used in its racing tires, Yokohama Rubber is also seeking to raise its tires’ contribution to driving performance, especially by enhancing its wet tires’ grip performance, including their warm-up performance.

Cars racing in a 2024 Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship race

ADVAN racing tires made from renewable & recycled raw materials

GT/Touring Car Races

SUPER GT

Super GT races are contested in two classes, GT500 and GT300. GT500 is dominated by works teams from major automakers while GT300 teams tend to be more varied and individualistic. While all GT500 machines must meet certain specifications, GT300 races are open to a variety of cars made in Japan and overseas. GT300 machines can broadly be divided into three types: (1) automakers’ production cars that meet the international FIA GT3 specifications, (2) Japan’s unique GTA-GT300 machines, and (3) the so-called “Mother Chassis" group of machines. In 2024, a YOKOHAMA-supported team won the series championship in the GT300 class. This year, we are again supplying ADVAN racing tires to two cars in the GT500 class and 15 cars in the GT300 class, and we look forward to many podium-qualifying finishes by our GT500 teams and a back-to-back championship in the GT300 class.

(SUPER GT GT500 class) KONDO RACING's REALIZE CORPORATION ADVAN Z (2024)

GT500 class teams being supported by Yokohama Rubber in 2025

GT300 class teams being supported by Yokohama Rubber in 2025

Nürburgring 24-Hour Race / Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie

In this year’s Nürburgring 24-Hour Race (ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring), Yokohama Rubber will be supplying ADVAN racing tires to three teams aiming for the championship in the top-level SP9 Pro class—last year’s overall champion Scherer Sport PHX, Haupt Racing Team, and KONDO RACING. We also will supply tires to teams competing in the SP9 Pro class in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) series of endurance races, as we aim for overall wins in many races.

Scherer Sport PHX’s Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II

Porsche Carrera Cup North America

For a second straight year, Yokohama Rubber will be supplying ADVAN racing tires as the control tire for the Porsche Carrera Cup North America, the top tier Porsche one-make racing series in North America and part of the global Porsche Carrera Cup series. Yokohama Rubber will again supply ADVAN A005 tires for dry conditions and ADVAN A006 tires for wet conditions. Porsche Carrera Cup North America races feature professional and amateur drivers competing in Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 992) race cars with specs based on Porsche’s 911 Carrera (Type 992). Yokohama Rubber will also supply control tires for the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama and Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama. These two series are step-up category races for semi-pro drivers aiming to compete in the Porsche Carrera Cup.

Ford Mustang Cup

Yokohama Rubber will be supplying ADVAN racing tires as the control tire for the new Mustang Cup one-make series featuring Ford Mustang Dark Horse R race cars. We will supply ADVAN A005 tires for dry conditions and ADVAN A006 tires for wet conditions.

Other GT and Touring Car Races

Yokohama Rubber will again supply its ADVAN racing tires to a number of other GT and touring car races held around the world, including the Toyota Gazoo Racing Motorsport races in Thailand and the Inter Proto Series in Japan.

Toyota Gazoo Racing Motorsport race (2024)

Hill Climbs

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Yokohama Rubber will again participate in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the United States. In 2024, cars equipped with ADVAN racing tires finished first in four divisions. This year, we will again supply ADVAN racing tires to drivers competing in many divisions and hope to achieve victories in many classes as well as the overall championship. In addition, we will again be sponsoring and providing the control tire for the Pikes Peak GT4 Trophy by Yokohama.

ADVAN-equipped car racing to victory in the Exhibition division (2024)

ADVAN-equipped winner in the Time Attack 1 division (2024)

Rally and Rally Cross

Japanese Rally Championship

Last year, Yokohama Rubber provided teams competing in the Japanese Rally Championship with ADVAN A051T, ADVAN A08B and ADVAN A052 tires for use on tarmac and the ADVAN A053 for use on gravel. These high-performance tires contributed to overall championships in the JN-3 and JN-4 classes for the second straight year in both classes. We again will be aiming for championships in multiple classes, including the series’ highest JN-1 class.

Speed Competitions

All Japan Gymkhana Championship

Once again this year, Yokohama Rubber will supply its ADVAN NEOVA AD09 and ADVAN A050 high-performance tires to support the aggressive driving of drivers aiming to capture the series championship in many classes.

All Japan Dirt Trial Championship

Last year, Yokohama Rubber supplied teams competing in several classes with a lineup of tires that deliver superior performance on various surfaces, starting with ADVAN A053 tires for use on normal and hard dirt, ADVAN A031 tires for softer dirt, and ADVAN A036 tires for ultra-hard dirt surfaces. Teams using these YOKOHAMA tires won the series championship in four classes: PN3, SC1, SC2, and D, including second consecutive championships in the PN3, SC1, and D classes. This year, YOKOHAMA tires will again support the aggressive driving of drivers aiming to capture the series championship in many classes.

Yokohama Motorsports Scholarship

As part of the company’s motorsports promotion activities, the Yokohama Motorsports Scholarship 2025 program supports participants in rally, gymkhana, and dirt trial competitions in Japan. The deadline for applications for this year’s program is April 30 (postmark date). The scholarship program is open to registered users of YOKOHAMA tires. Details, including eligible competitions, are posted on the program’s website.

Yokohama Motorsports Scholarship 2025 website (Japanese): https://www.y-yokohama.com/cp/motorsports/scholarship/

Participatory Motorsports

Yokohama Rubber will again supply tires to drivers participating in participatory motorsports events being held at circuits around Japan, including the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge 2025.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge’s KTMS GR Yaris driven by Masahide Nishimura & Fumio Nutahara in 2024

Off-road Races

Off-road Races in North America

Yokohama Rubber will again supply its GEOLANDAR brand tires for SUVs and pickup trucks to teams competing in major off-road races in North America, including the Baja 1000, King of the Hammers, and The Mint 400. This year we are aiming for overall championships in several series. Last year, GEOLANDAR equipped vehicles captured championships in nine classes, including at King of the Hammers and Vegas to Reno.

King of the Hammers (2024) 4500 Yukon Gear and Axle Modified Class winner driven by Duane Garretson

Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR)

Yokohama Rubber will again supply its GEOLANDAR M/T G003 to teams participating in this year’s AXCR 2025, the largest cross country rally in Asia. We are aiming to reclaim the overall championships won by GEOLANDAR-equipped vehicles in 2022 and 2023.

GEOLANDAR-equipped Toyota Fortuner racing to 4th place in AXCR 2024

GEOLANDAR-equipped Mitsubishi Triton finished in 5th place in AXCR 2024

Drift Competitions

FORMULA DRIFT® JAPAN (FDJ)

Yokohama Rubber will again supply its ADVAN NEOVA AD09 street sports tire to several teams participating in this year FDJ aiming for victory. We will also supply ADVAN NEOVA AD09 tires and ADVAN APEX V601 tires as the control tires for, respectively, FDJ2 and FDJ3 races.

D1 GRAND PRIX

We will supply a team aiming for victory in this race with our global flagship tire ADVAN brand tires.

Tagged: Japanese Rally Championship

Yokohama Rubber’s 2025 Motorsports Activity Plan