OREANDA-NEWS. April 12, 2012. The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that it will begin supplying control tires for the FIA Formula 2 Championship, starting at Silverstone in the United Kingdom on April 13. Yokohama is supplying, for dry conditions, ADVAN A005 tires with improved environmental performance while maintaining solid grip thanks to the company’s orange oil compounding technology, and, for wet conditions, the ADVAN A006. Both tires have been specially designed for the F2 Championship. Sizes are 240/600R13 for the front and 300/600R13 for the rear.

 The FIA F2 Championship was reestablished in 2009 as a step toward F1. F2 competition utilizes identical cars designed by the famed F1 team Williams Grand Prix Engineering. During an official test session at Silverstone last month, lap times for the upgraded 2012-spec F2 cars with ADVAN racing tires were two seconds quicker than for the 2011 model - sure to contribute to more exciting races. This year, 8 rounds/16 races are scheduled.

 Yokohama has been supplying control tires for the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), one of five FIA world championships, since 2006. It also supplies control tires to the Japanese F3 Championship, the German F3 Championship and others. In the case of the Macau F3 Grand Prix - considered the race to decide the world’s top F3 driver and a stepping stone to F1 - this is the 30th year for Yokohama to participate as exclusive tire supplier. Its selection as the F2 supplier resulted from widespread recognition of the outstanding performance of Yokohama tires as well as of the company’s ability to support top-level formula races with its technology and accumulated know-how.