We are now six races into the 2012 ADAC GT Masters season, and the 40 super sports cars have competed six times on the new tyres exclusively supplied by official partner YOKOHAMA. The Japanese high-performance tyre manufacturer had a range of issues to get to grips with in preparation for the 'Super Sports Car League', but YOKOHAMA Motorsport Manager Manfred Theisen is pleased with the way the first three race weekends have gone:

"We had a nerve-wracking start to the season at Oschersleben, because the decision to appoint us as official suppliers to the ADAC GT Masters was taken relatively late. But we managed OK. At Oschersleben, the emergence of YOKOHAMA as the new tyre partner meant that everyone involved had to have a major rethink. In addition to new cars, there were also some new teams, and they all needed to settle in. But based on our experiences at Oschersleben, we made some adjustments for the race at Zandvoort and not only boosted the number of personnel but also devised new schedules."

Up to 15 YOKOHAMA employees have been assigned to make sure that the race weekends run smoothly. The busiest times in the YOKOHAMA marquee are on Thursday and Friday. That's when the teams return the tyres they have used in free practice and pick up the sets that they will be fitting for qualifying and the two races.

YOKOHAMA brings approximately 1,800 tyres to each race - for the curtain-raiser at Oschersleben, they actually started with 3,000. On each ADAC Masters Weekend, two of the research team who have been involved in the development and testing of the tyres for the series are on hand to advise and support the teams.

"We are well satisfied with the results from the first six races," says Theisen. "Considering we didn't have the opportunity to perform any tests before the season got under way, it has all gone remarkably well. We now know exactly what needs to be done for the remaining races and also for the 2013 season."

The fourth race weekend, which forms part of the same bill as the ADAC Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring (13th to 15th July), also signifies the halfway point in the ADAC GT Masters season. The Nürburgring presents a new set of challenges for the 'black gold' supplied by YOKOHAMA. "The last two tracks - Zandvoort and the Sachsenring - were very demanding in terms of tyre wear," says Theisen. "The Nürburgring with its fast straights doesn't take quite so much out of the tyres. But having said that, the racing trucks create a different set of problems. By their very nature, the trucks give off quite a lot of fluid, which has consequences for the ADAC GT Masters and for the tyres, so that could certainly be an interesting factor at the Nürburgring."