Yokohama has been named as the official tire supplier for RocketSports Racing (RSR), and the two firms are teaming up to field a Jaguar XKR GT2 for next year’s American Le Mans Series (ALMS) season.
The Jag, running on Yokohama’s ADVAN A005 tires, makes its debut Sept. 26 at Saturday’s big Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. It will also be on the scene at Laguna Seca on Oct. 10, using the two races to introduce the car while taking advantage of the track time for testing and development.
“We are definitely eager to get going,” reports Mark Chung, Yokohama’s director of corporate strategy and planning.
“Partnering with RSR on the Jaguar XKR GT2 in ALMS is a perfect fit for Yokohama,” he says. “Motorsports is a core element in what we do. It’s in our DNA – we like to compete and we like to win, and so does RSR. Our collective efforts will certainly put us among the leaders in GT2 next year.”
In what is widely considered to be the deepest GT2 class in ALMS history, the new entry will be matching up against cars from Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Corvette, Viper and Ford.
For a production vehicle, the Jag “makes an excellent racecar,” according to RSR team owner Paul Gentilozzi. “The Jaguar XKR is exceptionally strong and rigid, and the construction method is in advance of the conventional steel stamping that we see in cars today,” he explains.
“That allows RSR to build a lighter, stronger, stiffer racecar,” says Gentilozzi. “Also, the basic aerodynamic design of the XKR has a low drag coefficient and more than sufficient downforce.”
Yokohama is more-than-ready to roll, Chung points out. “Our experience with Paul Gentilozzi and RSR goes back to the early ’90s when we won the Daytona 24 Hours together. We’ve maintained a close relationship throughout the years, and now we’re teaming up again and assembling a world-class crew to achieve great milestones in ALMS.”
For more information, visit www.yokohamatire.com and www.rocketsportsracing.com. (RSR is currently revamping its Internet site and anticipates launching new data soon.)
