SEAT is determined to do well at their home race in Valencia, Spain for this weekend’s rounds 17 and 18 of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) and Yokohama ADVAN can help.
Despite glowing reports on the tyre manufacturer’s performance in its first year of the WTCC, Yokohama continually looks for improvements and has been testing throughout the year to make sure it continues to deliver the best product possible.
Valencia was amongst the manufacturer’s pre-season testing grounds and SEAT driver Gabriele Tarquini believes this will help his team race to victory on Sunday.
"We did some testing there last winter with Yokohama so I know the tyres will be good," said the Italian. "Also, the track temperature should not be too high which will help our front wheel traction."
"I’m really optimistic that the team will do very well in Valencia; I like the track a lot and, of course, the car was very good there last year. As usual, we will have a big fight with BMW but this time the pressure will be on us to do really well in front of all the Spanish fans who will come out to support us."
The battle with rear-wheeled BMW is closer than ever with only one point separating Tarquini from reigning champion and current championship leader Andy Priaulx. The Italian is aware of the difference front and rear wheel traction can make.
"We’ve got very good tyres this season, they work well with both front and rear wheel traction but the BMW will always have an advantage during the race because they are rear-wheeled and that is better for tyre wear."
With rear-wheeled BMW benefiting from less tyre wear and low track temperatures favouring SEAT, the racing promises to be closer than ever.
"Home races can put a lot of pressure on a team," said Yokohama Europe’s Marketing Manager, Kazuyoshi Sekiguchi. "But I am confident we will deliver a good tyre that all teams can rely on whether they are competing in front of their local fans or not."
In the Yokohama Independents trophy, Tom Coronel’s closest rival, Ryan Sharpe will not be attending this weekend’s event and is unlikely to appear at the season finale in Macau next month.
Coverage for round 17 and 18 of the WTCC qualifying in Spain starts Saturday at 14.50 CET on Eurosport, with the two back-to-back races shown live at 15:00 CET.
