"We are well placed," says YOKOHAMA Motorsport Manager Manfred Theisen about the pre-season preparations as the new and exclusive tyre partner of the ADAC GT Masters. Before the season opener takes place at the Oscherleben Motorsport Arena from 30 March-1 April, the first tests for the teams on the new Japanese rubber will take place in March.

The YOKOHAMA tyres which will be fitted to the cars of the ADAC GT Masters this season are a completely new design. "The tyres that will be used in this year's championship have been influenced by the experiences of many development teams from both endurance racing on the Nürburgring and from our other motorsport projects. We can also draw on our experiences of motorsport programs in the USA and Japan", explained Theisen.

"Developing a tyre for the ADAC GT Masters, for cars from 13 different teams with many different vehicle concepts has been a challenge. We have developed a special tyre to meet the demands of different vehicle concepts such as front, middle or rear engine design."

For the motorsports division of YOKOHAMA, the construction of a new tyre for the ADAC GT Masters was only a part of the challenge before the start of the season in just four weeks. "Due to the relatively short time span before the start of the season and the large volume of tyres needed for more than 40 vehicles, we have had to overcome a major logistical challenge because all of our racing tyres are produced in Japan. Of course, we must also organise new personnel to attend race weekends to ensure everything runs smoothly," said Theisen. "We are on schedule and looking forward to the start of the season."