Yokohama Tire Corporation to introduce a series-wide environmentally-friendly race tire

In 2009, Yokohama Tire Corporation will introduce a motorsports first; the series-wide use of environmentally-friendly orange oil-infused race tires.  In addition, defending off-road champions Heidi and Cameron Steele will once again serve as the lead drivers of Yokohama Tire's desert racing program.

"From the introduction of orange oil compound race tires in the GT3 Challenge to the return of defending SCORE and SNORE champions Heidi and Cameron Steele, 2009 is shaping up to be a historic and exciting year for our race fans," said Mark Chung, director, corporate strategy and planning.  "The orange oil technology is extremely exciting for our race program; reducing petroleum inputs by approximately 10 percent and increasing recyclability while maintaining the high performance levels of previous race slick compounds."

The company will participate in five race series during 2009, including sports cars, off-road trucks and highly-tuned street vehicles.  Series include:

Patrón GT3 Challenge by Yokohama, SCORE International Off-Road Racing, American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and SNORE.