Yokohama Breaks Records at Mt. Washington Hillclimb
Key Highlights
- Scott Speed set a new course record at Mt. Washington with a time of 05:11.892 on Yokohama Advan A005 tires.
- Multiple Yokohama drivers secured class wins, including William Petrow, Don Taylor and Matt Gottlieb, across various categories.
- Yokohama says its Advan performance tires are engineered for challenging demands like the Mt. Washington Hillclimb.
Yokohama Tire Corp. recently celebrated several record-breaking wins at the Mt. Washington Hillclimb in Gorham, New Hampshire.
"Subaru Motorsports USA driver Scott Speed broke the course record while competing on Advan A005 tires fitted with a bespoke compound engineered specifically for the Mt. Washington Hillclimb," say Yokohama officials. "Speed completed the 7.6-mile up Mt. Washington Auto Road in 05:11.892, winning the Unlimited Class and overall race."
Speed’s “Project Midnight,” a turbo-charged 670-horsepower Subaru Motorsports/Vermont SportsCar WRX, beat the previous record set by Team Yokohama member Travis Pastrana’s “Airslayer” in 2021, which also ran on Advan tires. Pastrana’s record was 05:28.67.
“Scott's record-breaking run at Mt. Washington is a tremendous achievement and a testament to the performance of both the driver and the machine,” says Patricia Wall, Yokohama’s senior manager of motorsports. “We're incredibly proud that our Advan A005 tires, featuring a specially developed compound tailored to the unique demands of the event, played a role in that success.
"Scott was able to fully capitalize on the performance of the Advan A005, and the result speaks for itself. Breaking the course record is an incredible accomplishment and a great demonstration of what can be achieved when top-level engineering, preparation and driving talent come together.”
“I'm glad I was able to throw down a time that was so much faster than any of us expected,” says Speed. “This was a big mental challenge for me. It was so exciting. I pumped my fist at the finish line, and I don't normally do that.
"This was the only time I ran the full mountain this weekend, and a lot of things had to go right. Huge thanks to Subaru, everyone at Mount Washington for putting on this event and obviously our partner Yokohama for bringing a special tire for us.”
Yokohama had other class wins, including William Petrow, who set a new class record in Rally 2 in 7:01.300 while competing on Advan A005s, Don Taylor, who won the Vintage Class on Advan A054 tires in 7:36.266 and Matt Gottlieb, who took the Prepared 1 Class on Advan A052s in 6:39.142.
Along with the Mt. Washington Hill Climb, Yokohama’s extensive list of North American-based motorsports partnerships – both on- and off-road – includes Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama, Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama, Porsche Endurance Challenge North America by Yokohama and others.