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Yokohama is providing specially developed tires for the ongoing Dakar Rally in South America. The exhausting automotive endurance event began Jan. 3 and runs through Jan. 18.
Sponsored drivers Ukyo Katayama and Takuma Aoki are running on tires comprised of a new material known as “Orange Oil,” which is also employed in the company’s new generation ECO DNA Earth-1 tire offering.
As part of its group effort to tackle environmental issues, Yokohama has supported Katayama in the Dakar Rally since 2007. An advocate of environmental awareness through motorsports, Katayama participates in the Dakar with a car using bio-diesel fuel refined from used tempura (deep fat frying) oil.
In 2007, in the world’s first such attempt with a 100 percent bio fuel car, he finished 68th overall and 19th in his class. This time around, Yokohama is supplying Katayama with Geolandar A/T-S tires with specifications for the 2009 Dakar.
This year’s rally is the first participation in the Dakar for Aoki, a former motorcycle racer. He was paralyzed from the waist down in a crash during a test run, but has made an inspiring comeback as a racer of four-wheel-drive vehicles. In the FIA Asia Cross Country Rally, he won his class in only his second attempt.
Yokohama is providing Aoki with Geolandar M/T+ tires with 2009 Dakar specifications and improved off-road performance capabilities.
The Dakar Rally is marking 31st anniversary in 2009. Last year – when it was scheduled to be run in Africa – the event was canceled for the first time because of civil unrest and a deteriorating security situation.
This year, the rally is being staged in Argentina and Chili, covering a distance of 9,000 kilometers. It’s a tough race to run, including crossing the Andes Mountains at an elevation of 4,700 meters and traversing the Atacama Desert in Chile. The terrain presents torrid challenges to both drivers and vehicles.
For more information, visit www.yokohamatire.com.
