SCCA Solo racers were once again dodging autocross cones this past weekend, with events running simultaneously in Irvine, California and Atlanta, Georgia. On both coasts, the Street Touring (ST) classes were dominated by the Proxes R1R extreme performance tire by Toyo Tires. This 140-UTQG rated tire has rapidly become the favorite for winners in ST, including Tim Smith, 2008 SCCA Solo National Champion.
In Atlanta, Team Toyo’s Smith finished first in the Pro Class out of 26 entries with his 1989 Honda Civic Si shod with Proxes R1R tires. Not only did he win the class, but he lent his car to friend, Bill Bounds, who finished second behind Smith. In fact, Toyo Proxes R1R equipped Hondas captured the top three spots in the Pro Class. Also running the same car, and the same set of tires, were Laura White and Amy Smith who scored a 1-2 finish in the ST class over a field of 13 cars.
“Our Proxes R1R tires perform exactly as expected… sometimes a little more, and never a disappointment,” said Tim Smith. “I am looking forward to competing in Houston next weekend.”
Smith also won the SCCA Dixie National Tour at South Georgia Motorsports Park, the first stop of the SCCA Solo National Tour, and heads to event three of the Solo National Tour in Houston April 4.
The SCCA Pro Solo® national season kicked off at the El Toro Airfield in Southern California. Team Toyo’s Ken Motonishi continued his dominance by scoring his fourth consecutive ST class victory in 2009 while running on Proxes R1R tires, including round two of the Solo National Tour in San Diego. Motonishi won Sunday’s competition with a comfortable margin of victory driving his 1989 Honda Civic Si, but still felt the pressure.
“Ours was a hard fought win with a lot of drama despite a margin of some 1.9-seconds,” said Motonishi. “Also during the previous race in San Diego, we ran in both the rain and on a dry track, our Proxes R1R tires maintaining the same performance gap over our competitors in all track conditions.”
In addition to Motonishi’s ST class win at El Toro, Toyo Proxes R1R tires finished first and second on Mazda Miatas in Street Touring S (STS), first in Street Touring X (STX) on a Subaru WRX and first in Ladies Class 1 with a Honda Civic Si.
“We congratulate both Tim Smith and Ken Motonishi on their continued dominance in Solo,” said Stan Chen, manager of motorsports and events, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. “This has been an awesome weekend for the Proxes R1R, and we are glad people know it is the tire that delivers podiums in the Street Touring classes.”
