Three first-places finishes highlighted a successful start forYokohama Tire Corporation'ssponsorship of the 2009 Redline Time Attack series during the March 28-29 season-opener at Buttonwillow Raceway in central California.
Winners in Yokohama Tire-shod cars included:
* Billy Johnson, Unlimited RWD Class, FX Motorsports Acura NSX (on
Yokohama ADVAN A005(r) slicks), 1:45.516, a new RWD and Unlimited RWD
record and besting defending champion and this year's runner up by more
than 2 seconds (1:47.992).
* Frank Yeung, Unlimited FWD Class, HPS Acura Integra (on Yokohama
ADVAN A005(r) slicks), 1:58.717, nearly 3 seconds faster than second
place time of 2:01.169
* Dino Tadokawa, Street FWD Class, Mazda/Sony/Yokohama/Oakley
MazdaSpeed 3 (on ADVAN Neova(r) AD08 tires), 2:00.552, a new Street-FWD
record and almost 4 seconds quicker than second-place time of 2:03.8500.
"Great, great start to the Redline Time Attack season," said Mark Chung,
Yokohama director, corporate strategy and planning. "We've been looking
forward to seeing how the ADVAN A005 will perform during its first year
in the Unlimited class and what the all-new Neova AD08 will achieve in
the Street Class. Judging by the first race results and two
record-breaking lap times, we're stacking up rather well."
The ultra-high-performance ADVAN Neova(r) AD07 collected two Street
Class championships last year and Yokohama is expecting the ADVAN Neova
AD08 to continue its success as the series moves to Willow Springs
Raceway, Rosamond, California, May 30-31.
