The Yokohama Rubber Co, has announced that JLOC’s Venteny Lamborghini GT3, driven by Takashi Kogure and Yuya Motojima, sporting the Yokohama Advan tyre, its flagship product, have finished first in the GT300 class in Round 7 of the 2024 Autobacs Super Gt Series.

The competition is said to be the pinnacle in Japan’s ultimate touring car racing series. The Round 7 was held on 19-20 October at the Autopolis Circuit in Oita Prefecture. Yokohama Rubber is aiming to recapture the GT300 class championship in the Super GT Series as part of its Advan Challenge, which seeks to maximise sales of Advan tyres.

After finishing 15th in the qualifying race, Kogure and Motojima made a come-from-behind win to claim their second victory of the season. From start to finish, Round 7 was a tumultuous race that saw the safety car deployed four times owing to several incidents on the course.

Motojima took the wheel from the start of the race and drove calmly at high speeds. After the race resumed following a second safety car interruption, Motojima moved up among the leaders and then turned the wheel over to Kogure. After the third safety car interruption, Kogure took tentative lead and fiercely increased the pace, keeping the rest of the field at bay. With just 17 minutes left in the three-hour race, a crash led to the fourth deployment of the safety car, which eventually took the chequered flag.

The first place finish in Round 7 moved Kogure and Motojima up to third place in the series driver team point standings with two races remaining. 

The consumer tyre strategy in Yokohama Rubber’s three-year (2024–2026) medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2026 (YX2026), aims to maximise the sales ratios of high-value-added tires by expanding sales of Yokohama’s global flagship Advan brand, the Geolandar brand of tyres for SUVs and pickup trucks, winter tyres, and 18-inch and larger tyres.

Yokohama Rubber positions participation in motorsports activities as crucial to its effort to further strengthen the Advan and Geolandar brands. Yokohama Rubber therefore is again participating in a wide variety of motorsports events around the globe, from top-category to grassroots events.

A delegation from WESTLAKE MARKETING (MALAYSIA) SDN. BHD. recently visited ZC Rubber’s headquarters at Hangzhou. The visit provided a chance to deepen the understanding of ZC Rubber's operations, technology and future direction while also strengthening the collaboration.

The visitors were given a tour of ZC Rubber's 5G Future Factory to demonstrate how technologies such as automation, real-time monitoring and smart logistics are integrated into daily operations to improve efficiency, product consistency and sustainability. During their tour of the ZC Rubber Showroom, the visitors learned about the company's whole product line, technological advancements, brand history and global expansion, demonstrating the company’s dedication to performance, safety and innovation. The guests also learned more about ZC Rubber's sustainability development and corporate social responsibility initiatives. In order to strengthen market cooperation, align growth goals and investigate new prospects for the Malaysian market, ZC Rubber organised a strategy conference following the tours.

Justin Cui, Asia Sales Director, said, “Malaysia is one of our key strategic markets in Southeast Asia. We highly value our partnership with WESTLAKE MARKETING (MALAYSIA) and look forward to working even more closely to deliver high-quality products and strong support to our local customers.”

The N Vision intelligent tyre from Maxxis has strengthened its resolve for innovation and sustainability by winning the gold A’ (A-Prime) Design award. The tyre was recognised in the Vehicle Parts, Auto Accessories and Care Products design category.

N Vision, which was created for the autonomous vehicles that are expected to be commercially available in 2030, makes use of information from several sensors to forecast tyre condition, vehicle load, speed and road conditions. By modifying the spokes' stretch and bending in response to such circumstances, it gives the tread area the best possible pre-compression or pre-tension. In the end, this lowers the cost of travel per mile. In order to maximise sustainability, N Vision was built using recycled materials made from fishing nets, tyres and PET bottles, as well as bio-based components made from rice husks and sunflower seeds. Tyre scrapping is decreased by its environmentally friendly design and materials, which also give customers an inexpensive, renewable travel choice.

A jury composed of 316 top designers, scholars and prominent members of the press selected the winners of the international A' Design Award competition, which recognises excellence in design in a wide range of fields, including transportation, hospitality, furniture, beauty and much more.

The Victra Sport 6 and HP6 tyres from Maxxis have won the Red Dot Product Design Award for 2025 in the Vehicle Accessories category.

The Maxxis Premitra HP6 features improved rolling resistance, effective braking, a smooth ride, improved mileage for longer travel and accurate handling in wet situations. Designed for sport and luxury automobiles, the Maxxis Victra Sport 6 is an ultra-high-performance tyre that works well with electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. It offers outstanding handling and performs quite well at sporty, faster driving. Both the tyres are available in Europe.

Red Dot Award winners are selected by a panel of 40 worldwide professionals who test, analyse and assess each entry in one of the biggest design contests in the world. The categories for awards include Design Concept, Brand Communication and Product Design. Winners will receive the Red Dot trophies during a banquet in Essen, Germany, on 8 July.

Continental's SportContact 7 tyre has emerged the test winner in this year's Auto Bild sportscar summer tyre test (issue 6/25) with an overall grade of 1.2 (exemplary).

Seven tyre models in the sizes VA 245/35 R 20 and HA 295/30 R 20 from European, Asian and American manufacturers were tested by the editors. The Lotus Emira served as the test car. The SportContact 7 scored top marks in wet handling, cornering, braking and aquaplaning. It had a 43.7-metre braking distance from 100 kmph on wet asphalt, which put it four metres ahead of the second-place tyre and eleven meters ahead of the last-place tyre. It clinched an intermediate score of 1- for the wet tests, which puts it far ahead of its rivals in the test field. After 31.2 metres at 100 kmph in the dry testing, the tyre came to a complete stop. Overall, the tyre received an intermediate 1- throughout the five dry categories.

The SportContact 7 is specifically made for high-performance sports cars that may be powered by electricity or conventional power. Several automakers have authorised it, and it comes in sizes ranging from 18 to 24 inches. Continental concentrated on achieving excellence in every performance criterion throughout development in order to maximise driving enjoyment and safety.

Andreas Schlenke, tyre expert at Continental, said, "The SportContact 7 took first place in the AUTO BILD sportscar test in both wet and dry conditions. This once again proves its leading position in the sports and UHP tyre segment.”

The final verdict from the tyre testers read: "Conti's sport tyre sets the standard for braking on dry and wet roads and offers a big plus in driving safety. Stable, well-balanced handling on dry roads.”