FULLERTON, CA (Sept. 16, 2013) – Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC)-sponsored drifting competitor Michael Essa is one race away from winning the series championship after his victory in Formula Drift’s “Round 6 Showdown” event at Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth Saturday night.
Driving on YTC’s newest ultra high-performance tire, the ADVAN Neova® AD08 R, Essa powered his GSR Autosport E46 BMW M3 to victory for his second win of the year. He leads the Pro Championship points chase going into the final competition of the 2013 Formula D season, October 11-12, at Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, California. This is also Essa’s second podium result in as many races using the AD08 Rs.
“The course was crazy with triple-digit entry speeds,” said Essa, “but we were able to take home the win. The grip of Yokohama’s AD08 R tires is incredible and helped make this an amazing event for us. We are leading the points right now heading into Irwindale and have a shot at the championship. I can’t be happier with the results.”
“Michael’s a tremendous driver and fierce competitor, and it showed in Texas,” said Matt Johnson, YTC performance marketing supervisor. “He and the GSR Autosport team have built a championship-level car that spotlights the performance of our Neova AD08 Rs. The tire features a specialized compound that includes our orange oil technology for enhanced traction and road surface adhesion, plus it uses the best of our race tire compound technology and design.”
Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a global manufacturing and sales company of premium tires since 1917. Servicing a network of more than 4,500 points of sale in the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation is a leader in technology and innovation. The company’s complete product line includes tires for high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, and off-the-road mining and construction applications. For more information on Yokohama’s extensive product line, visit www.yokohamatire.com.
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