A Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 150 equipped with Open Country M/T off-road tyres from Toyo Tires for pickup trucks and SUVs won its class in the T1G (gasoline vehicle) division at the 27th Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR) 2024, held in Thailand, from, August 11 to August 17.
AXCR is the largest international cross-country rally event in Asia, certified by the FIA. The team, “FLEX SHOW AIKAWA Racing with TOYO TIRES”, participated in the event for the first time in five years having last entered in 2019. This year the AXCR covered approximately 2,100 km taking the racers from Surat Thani in Thailand to Kanchanaburi.
Team driver, Masato Kawabata, Toyo Tires brand ambassador, had some trouble with the car at the outset, but by the fifth day, he had taken the vehicle to second place. On the sixth and final day, the car secured first place, crossing the finish line with a1 minute 30 second lead over the following car, and winning its class.
Outstanding off-road properties of the tyres The car’s Open Country M/T tyres, size: LT265/70 R17, demonstrated excellent off-road performance and contributed to the car achieving its class victory.
Toyo Tires improve the performance of tyres for pickup trucks and SUVs by feeding back the experience of participating in off-road races held in harsh environments into the product development, using the knowledge gained through racing to deliver increased high-performance, high-quality and attractive products globally.
Sho Aikawa, director of the team: “This victory was won because the team came together. We started AXCR in 2011 and finally got a win. Thank you to everyone for your support.” Driver Masato Kawabata: “This was my second time competing in the AXCR after five years, but it was a difficult rally due to a combination of various factors, such as machine malfunctions and course strategies. However, each time I spoke with team members and my co-driver, we took measures and were able to move forward. Also, the Open Country tyre did not cause any trouble even in a harsh rally, and I once again realised that it is a reliable tyre. I would like to thank Toyo Tires for giving me this opportunity, and everyone who supported me. Thank you very much.”
Open Country Series Tyres
Open Country is Toyo Tires’ flagship brand for SUVs. Launched in 1983, the brand has achieved many overwhelming results, with successes in both the Dakar Rally and BAJA 1000, reputed to be the toughest international off-road races in the world. Toyo Tires feed back the knowledge gained from these experiences into product development. The high basic performance cultivated through racing and aggressive pattern design have been highly evaluated in the North American market, the home of large SUVs. In Japan, products that use “white letters”, which display the brand name and product name in three- dimensional white letters on the side of the tyre, are highly popular among outdoor and fashion-oriented users and drivers who enjoy customisation.
Source: Tyretradenews
