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Toyo Tires will enter the 2025 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) endurance race series with dedicated race tires from their global flagship Proxes brand. The series, commences on March 22 and includes the legendary Nürburgring 24 hours in June. The Ring Racing with Toyo Tires 2025 entry includes cars in three classes, SP8T class, for near production vehicles, SP10 Class, for GT4 spec cars and SP-PRO class for the fastest, GT3 cars. The team will be looking to defend their 2024 title as winners of the SP10 class which they won with their Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO.

^{(Left: Vehicle scheduled to participate in SP8T and SP10, Right: Image of. vehicle scheduled to participate in SP-PRO).}

Following on from last year's success, the SP10 class will be contested using the series winning Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO. The same model, in a lower state of modification will be used in the SP8T class, where cars are raced in a near production specification. In the SP-Pro class, the team will enter a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. All the vehicles will use Proxes slick race tires produced with sustainable materials. In the Sp-Pro class, 33% of the weight of each Proxes slick race tire is made with susatinable materials. The Proxes tire employs a number of sustainable materials including biomass-derived styrene rubber, butadiene rubber, plant-derived oil, rice husk ash silica, and recycled bead wire.

Starting this year, the team will be employing young drivers from Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) and working with these drivers to develop both products and people through racing activities. Four TGR drivers will be employed by the team in the SP8T class. As well as supporting the training of young TGR drivers, Toyo Tires will use the knowledge gained through racing to feed back into tire development.

Three drivers, Andreas Gülden, Tim Sandtler, and Marc Hennerici, who won the 2024 SP10 class championship, will compete in the top SP-PRO class this year, aiming for success at the highest level. Proxes brand ambassador Takayuki Kinoshita will continue to be the driver in the SP10 class, aiming to take class wins in both the NLS and the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

The NLS and the Nürburgring 24 Hours are known as some of the toughest endurance races in the world. The Nürburgring is a circuit with a total length of approximately 25 km, consisting of a 5 km GP course and 20 km of the Nordschleife. The Nordschleife challenges drivers with elevation changes of 300m around the ciurcuit and more than 170 corners. Lap times are a valuable indicator of vehicle performance, and many automakers and tire manufacturers use it as a place to pursue product performance.

Toyo Tires have been joining the challege of the NLS and the Nürburgring 24 Hours continuously since 2020. This year, the team will fit "Proxes Slicks (Nürburgring spec)" dedicated race tires which have been rervised and uprated based on data obtained from last years' participatoion.

Toyo Tires use the data gained through experience in these demanding races to develop high-quality, high-performance products in the future, and contribute to our policy of "realizing a sustainable mobility life".

[TGR Drivers competing in the SP8T class]

■Yuichi Nakayama Born in Tokyo. He started racing in kids' karts at the age of 5 and has been active in kart racing ever since. In 2013, he won the All Japan F3 C class (championship class with no restrictions). He competed in the Nürburgring 24 Hours race in 2018 and 2019, winning the SP-PRO class in 2018. In SUPER GT, he recorded a total of seven wins in the GT300 class from 2015 to 2018. He stepped up to the GT500 class in 2019 and has recorded a total of three wins by 2024 as the main driver for LEXUS TEAM SARD and TGR TEAM SARD.
■ Giuliano Alesi Born in France. His father is F1 driver Jean Alesi. He started karting in earnest in 2013 and competed in the French F4 in 2015. He will move his base of operations to Japan in 2021, competing in the All Japan Super Formula Lights, recording four wins. He also participated in a spot race in Super Formula with TEAM TOM'S, winning. In SUPER GT, he will compete in the GT500 class with TGR TEAM au TOM'S (car number 36) in 2022, and in 2023 he will transfer to TGR TEAM Deloitte TOM'S (car number 37), winning the third and sixth rounds of 2024.
■ Kazuto Kodaka Born in Kanagawa Prefecture. He started karting at the age of 3 and won numerous titles in the 2009 All Japan Junior Kart and local series. In 2020, he made his first regular appearance in SUPER GT with muta Racing INGING in the GT300 class, recording two pole positions and two podiums. In 2023, as a TGR-DC driver, he will drive a LEXUS LC500h in the SUPER GT GT300 class apr with KONDO RACING, finishing third in the final in the 7th round, and third in the final in the 5th round in 2024, achieving a podium finish.
■ Miki Koyama Born in Kanagawa Prefecture. Started karting at the age of 5 and participated in overseas races at the age of 13. In 2019, she became a regular participant in the international women's series "Formula Championship W Series". In 2022, as part of the TGR Driver Challenge Program, she participated in the Formula Regional Japanese Championship, winning the annual driver's title and becoming the first female champion in the history of the FIA-certified mixed-gender single-seater championship. In 2025, she is scheduled to participate regularly in the GT300 class APR.
[SP10 Class Participants] ■Takayuki Kinoshita As a professional racing driver, Takayuki Kinoshita has achieved numerous podium finishes in major domestic races, including the All Japan Touring Car Race, Super GT, and Super Taikyu. He also has ample experience in overseas races. In 2004, he achieved 5th place overall in the Nürburgring 24 Hours race, the highest ranking for a Japanese driver. He also holds the record for the most appearances by a Japanese driver in the same race. In addition to his racing activities, he is a motor journalist with a wide range of activities, including serving as a member of the Japan Car of the Year selection committee and writing columns. In January 2023, he was appointed brand ambassador for our global flagship tire brand, Proxes.