FULLERTON, CA (March 18, 2010) - A little more orange oil means a lot less petroleum, according to Yokohama Tire Corporation, which introduced its upgraded environmentally-sensitive ADVAN® ENV-R2 racing tire at a press conference today in Sebring, Florida. Yokohama’s orange oil-infused racing slicks, which will campaign in two major sports car race series in 2010, utilizes sustainable resources such as orange oil and natural rubber to help cut petroleum use during manufacturing.
Yokohama is the only tire company to have perfected this science, said Mark Chung, Yokohama director, corporate strategy and planning. The ENV-R2 replaces the ADVAN® ENV-R1, which debuted in 2009 at Sebring and became the world’s first environmentally-friendly tire used in a racing series. Now we have the ENV-R2, which is faster, grips better and has even more orange oil and natural rubber in it, further reducing petroleum use in the tire.
Normal racing tires contain little or no natural materials. The ENV-R1 increased the renewable, natural content to 15 percent. The ENV-R2, the official spec tire of the Patrón GT3 Challenge by Yokohama and the ALMS GT3 Challenge (GTC) Class races, increases it to 20 percent.
Yokohama’s best known for its ultra high-performance street and race tires, said Chung, which are a result of our longstanding commitment to innovation, technology and the environment. Thanks to this pledge, all the Porsche 911 GT3 cars in the two sports car series will be competing on tires that are superior to regular racing compounds and they are Earth-friendly. That’s what I call eco-racing.
The orange oil technology developed by Yokohama’s motorsports division is part of the company’s overall global environmental strategy. The proprietary technology, which combines orange oil with natural rubber to form a new compound called Super Nano-Power Rubber, is now used in race tires and Yokohama’s dB Super E-specTM, an everyday passenger car tire that debuted in July 2009.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary in the United States, Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a global manufacturing and sales company of premium tires since 1917. Servicing a network of more than 4,500 points of sale in the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation is a leader in technology and innovation. The company’s complete product line includes the dB Super E-spec - the world’s first tire to use orange oil to reduce petroleum as well as tires for high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, and off-the-road mining and construction applications. For more information on Yokohama’s extensive product line, visit www.yokohamatire.com.
Yokohama is a strong supporter of the tire care and safety guidelines established by the Rubber Manufacturers Association and the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration. Details can be found at the Tire Safety section at www.yokohamatire.com