Yokohama and Aston Martin tires at Nurburgring

When it comes to testing high-performance car tires, there is nothing more prestigious than the Nurburgring in Germany. At the recent Nurburgring 24-hour race, Japanese tire manufacturer Yokohama had the opportunity to install its tires on two cars at the Aston Martin Test Center. The cars managed to finish the incredibly tough race with a second and third position in the SP8 class of which they were part; an impressive achievement. Both teams of drivers were satisfied with the race and had a lot of fun.

The cars were nicknamed ‘Zig’ and ‘Smurf’. Zig was an Aston Martin V12 Zagato No. 005, while Smurf is a V8 Vantage GT4. The team of drivers Zig drove consisted of Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez, Chief Engineer Chris Porritt, Test Center Director Wolfgang Schuhbauer and journalist Richard Meaden. Despite the rain that began to fall as the morning dawned over the mountains, Zig’s run went smoothly; they completed 137 laps and finished second. Smurf was driven by Jürgen Stumpf, Mal Rose, Rob Thomson, Peter Cate and did not experience any significant problems either, finishing third in the SP8 class after 135 laps.

Interestingly, Zig (the V12 Zagato) was nearly identical to a standard showroom spec model. It had some improvements, but mainly they related to the safety of the vehicle. Despite that, the car demonstrated impressive levels of performance and durability to clinch a podium spot in an intensive 24-hour race.

Yokohama was particularly pleased with the tire setup on Smurf, the V8 Vantage. At one point in the 24-hour race, Smurf’s team was running triple stints and a single set of Yokohama tires managed to cover 37 laps. For those of you who are familiar with the Nurburgring, you will know that it is quite an impressive achievement!

For those who don’t know, the Nürburgring is a race track located near the town of Nurburg in Germany. The North Loop (Nordschliefe) was originally built in the 1920s and is 14.2 miles long, while the Sudschliefe (Southern Loop) is only 4.8 miles. The Southern Loop was designed for use in test and club racing with the North Loop intended to be a testament to the skills of German engineering. It’s an extremely challenging and test track with 172 massive corners, split evenly between left and right turns.

If you’re going to be racing around the Nurburgring (and it’s open to the general public at times), you need to make sure your car is well maintained, fluid levels topped up, and good quality car tires fitted with a lot of wear on the tread. bearing and correct tire pressures.