All told, Yokohama will field 20 drivers in multiple classes during the 12.42.-mile iconic “Race to the Clouds,” which is set for June 26 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Yokohama will also unveil and race a new, environmentally sustainable derivative of the A052 tire.
“Yokohama has a long, highly successful history at Pikes Peak,” said Fardad Niknam, Yokohama Tire’s senior director of product planning and product marketing, “including overall championships and many records and wins in the electric vehicle class. This year, we’ll have over 20 percent of the Pikes Peak field, which we believe will be the highest number of drivers running on one tire brand!”
Yokohama’s star-studded driver list includes:
– Robin Shute: The 2021 overall champion and unlimited class winner will campaign his 2018 Wolf GB08 TSC-LT on special ADVAN A005™ tires with the same specs as those supplied for use in the Japanese Super Formula Championship, Asia’s ultimate formula car race – a first for a top team in the unlimited division at Pikes Peak.
– Blake Fuller: He will pilot the Electric Performance/NRS 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid in the exhibition division on A052 tires with sidewalls made from sustainable materials. These tires replace the petroleum-derived butadiene rubber with biomass-derived butadiene rubber and have achieved a high recyclable material content. *
– Levi Shirley: The 4400 Ultra4 race truck star and Team Yokohama member will be making his Pikes peak debut, driving the 2014 Campbell Ent Single Seat IFS car fitted with GEOLANDAR X-AT® tires.
– Clint Vahsholtz: The 2020 overall champion and open wheel division winner will have A005/A006™ tires on his Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 in open wheel class.
– Randy Pobst: The 2021 exhibition division champion will be driving the Unplugged Performance 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid shod with ADVAN A005/A006 slicks.
– Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama field: Returning to the mountain are Charles “Chaz” Wirken, Cam Ingram and George Hess III, as well as newcomers Gilles Nadeau, automotive journalist Johnny Lieberman and Loni Unser, whose family is no stranger to the mountain – her great grandfather Jerry Sr. raced for the first time at Pikes Peak in 1931 and her great uncle Louis won it in 1934!
“We’ll be highlighting the performance of our ADVAN tires on the mountain,” said Niknam. “All the EV cars in action will be shooting for wins on ADVAN UHP or race tires, which have proven themselves time and again. We’re excited to take on the mountain again on ADVANs.”
Yokohama will also have a major presence at Fan Fest, Friday, June 24 in downtown Colorado Springs, where 40,000-plus fans are expected to attend. At the Yokohama display, limited edition 100th anniversary Pikes Peak posters will be given away, there will be meet-and-greet with drivers, cool cars on display, hourly giveaways and more.
For more details on the Pikes Peak race, visit https://ppihc.org/. For live streaming of the race, go to https://www.facebook.com/Mobil1/.
Along with the Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama, Yokohama’s extensive list of 2022 North American-based motorsports activities – both on- and off-road – includes the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama, Yokohama Drivers Cup USA, Global Time Attack and Super Lap Battle USA, Nitro Rallycross, SCORE, Crandon International Raceway sponsorship, 24 Hours of Lemons, Subaru Motorsports USA partnership, Yokohama NORRA Mexican 1000, Yokohama Tire Jeepspeed Race Series, TrophyLite Series, Championship Off-Road Series Partnership and Yokohama Sonora Rally.
* Use of biomass-derived butadiene rubber. This butadiene rubber was developed in a joint research project with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and the Research Association of High-Throughput Design and Development for Advanced Functional Materials (ADMAT). The project succeeded in synthesizing butadiene rubber using butadiene generated by the world’s most productive catalytic system for producing butadiene from bioethanol. The project was commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) as part of its Ultra High-Throughput Design and Prototyping Technology for Ultra Advanced Materials Development Project.