Efforts to engineer ecologically friendly tire technologies are bearing significant fruit as each of the Porsche 911 racers competing in the March 19 Patr—n GT3 Challenge by Yokohama are outfitted with the company's ADVAN ENV-R1 orange oil-infused racing tires.
It is the first time in more than a century of automobile racing that a series such as this is utilizing sustainable tire technology on all the vehicles, according to Mark Chung, Yokohama's director of corporate strategy and planning.
A sizable crowd was expected to witness the event as fans file into Florida's Sebring International Raceway in anticipation of this weekend's iconic 12 Hours of Sebring motorsports extravaganza, which in 2008 brought nearly 171,000 spectators through the turnstiles.
Sebring's 3.7-mile, 17-turn circuit is the oldest road course in North America; portions of it were originally a World War II training base for B-17 aircraft.
"It's apropos that we're launching an orange oil tire among the citrus groves of Florida," Chung observes. "The development of this ENV-R1 will benefit race fans, consumers and the environment."
"The ENV-R1s have performed very well since our team's first test session at Sebring in February," reports Alex Job, owner of Alex Job Racing. "There's been a lot of speculation about how these tires would perform and - I have to say - I'm very pleased with their performance. Between Mitch Pagerey in the driver's seat, the car and the new tires, we have a real strong package."
Yokohama has developed a process that combines orange oil with natural rubber to form a new compound called "Super Nano-Power Rubber." In the ENV-R1, the proprietary technology reduces petroleum by about 10 percent and increases recyclability while maintaining the high performance levels of previous racing slick materials, says Chung.
The process was developed by Yokohama's motorsports division in the 1980s and recently accelerated as a part of the company's global environmental strategy. As a result, the orange oil technology will be available for U.S. passenger car drivers this summer via the new dB Super E-spec tire with fitments for the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Honda Accord Hybrid and other vehicle models.
For more information, visit www.yokohamatire.com.
