Yokohama Geolander-equipped machine wins its class in the latest round of North America’s ultimate off-road racing series

Tokyo—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that a vehicle running on its GEOLANDAR M/T G003 mud-terrain tires for SUVs and pickup trucks finished first in the Trick Truck class of the 2021 King Shocks Laughlin Desert Classic, the next-to-last event of the Best In The Desert Series 2021, North America’s ultimate off-road racing series. The event was held from September 23 to September 26 in Laughlin, Nevada, USA.

The Trick Truck class was won by Justin Lofton driving his 2WD Jimco trophy truck outfitted with specially tuned versions of the commercially available GEOLANDAR M/T G003 tires. Justin praised the GEOLANDAR tires for providing the superb traction and non-flat performance needed to secure victory. The 2021 King Shocks Laughlin Desert Classic races were run over a 17-mile (≒27km) semi-short course over two days, September 25-26, with each day’s race a four-lap competition for a two-day total of 136 miles (≒219km). The winner was the driver with the lowest combined time over the two days of racing. Trick Truck class winner Justin Lofton also drove his GEOLANDAR M/T G003–equipped Jimco to the overall championship in the series 2020 finale, the BlueWater Desert Challenge.

GEOLANDAR M/T G003 tires deliver superior performance on the full range of off-road surfaces over an exceptionally long lifespan. In addition, the tire features a sturdy and aggressive design that enhances the off-road driving sensation. YOKOHAMA’s GEOLANDAR tires have demonstrated their superior off-road performance in many races over the years, including a one-two finish in the 4800 class at the 2021 King Shocks Area BFE Beatdown this past April.

Under Yokohama Rubber’s three-year (2021–2023) medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2023 (YX2023), the consumer tire business aims to maximize the sales ratios of high-value-added YOKOHAMA tires, namely the global flagship ADVAN brand, the GEOLANDAR brand of tires for SUVs and pickup trucks, and various winter tires.YX2023 also positions participation in motorsports activities as crucial to the company’s effort to develop new tire technologies that will further strengthen the ADVAN and GEOLANDAR brands. Yokohama Rubber therefore is again participating in a wide variety of motorsports events in Japan and around the globe, from top-category to grassroots events.