The main reason why Yokohama's official tire supply for Macau Grand Prix has continued for three decades may be good performance of its products. But the prompt and proper operation of the company's tire service team is certainly one of major factors that have earned the strong confidence in Yokohama Tire from the participating drivers and teams.

Based on the service garage located in the paddock, the members of tire service team fit the hundreds of tires on the rims speedily but with extreme care for each single wheel set. They remain behind the scene but their role is so important that the race meeting can't be run without them.

The tire service team for Macau Grand Prix is normally made up of dozens of members and Syuichi Kurita is the chief of the team. The field veteran who had already been a member of the team in 1983, the year Yokohama started to supply the official tires for the F3 race, speaks about his job and fond memories in Macau.

Macau Grand Prix adopted the F3 cars for its feature race in 1983 and, at the same time, Yokohama Tire began to provide the tires as the sole official supplier. Before the event that year, things had been very hectic for me in arranging the equipment to be used at Macau. We need several types of machines and tools, including the so-called tire changer, for the tire fitting work at the site. And, for Macau Grand Prix, we had to have multiple sets of them to meet the high demand because we had to look after all competitors in the F3 race under the control tire rule.

So we had to gather up our equipment from the race tracks in Japan, at the latest possible timing not to affect the operations at those circuits, and shipped them to Macau. I had been told that the air compressors and the electric powered tire balancing machines were available at the site. But I was just baffled when I arrived at the paddock because those machines were completely different from ours and we didn't know how to use them...

Nowadays, we can use a nice and comfortable garage but our working area in the early years was open-air, with no canvas at all, and it was only enclosed by the two 40 feet containers that were used for conveying the tires from Japan on both sides. Because of such working environment, all members of the team got deeply suntanned by the end of the weekend.

On top of this, we had extra strain associated with the overseas trip and the weather was much hotter than expected. But everyone in the team wouldn't go directly to bed after the day's work and even enjoyed the night life in Macau somehow. I would say we switched on and off smartly (laugh).

Leaving the memories of 30 years ago behind, I have been involved in Macau Grand Prix for years as the leader of the tire service team. I believe many motor sport fans have seen a tire service garage somewhere in the paddock of a race track. That garage is our base and the members of the tire service team work mainly on tire fitting for race cars there.

You may see the tire fitting work at, for example, a gas station or an auto supply shop. Basically, there is no difference in the operation itself either for a race car or a road car. But we have to be more careful in the fitting work for a race car which runs at very high speeds and pushes the tires to marginal domain. At the same time, speedy work within a limited time is required, as a race meeting is normally run in a tight minute-to-minute schedule.

In Macau Grand Prix, particularly, we have to look after all F3 cars that run on the control tires supplied by Yokohama Tire and, in addition, we have many customers who take part in the supporting races, so the number of tires we handle is simply incomparable with other events. To deal with such a situation around the tire service works, we have had a few things to keep in mind since our first year in Macau. Firstly, we must check and maintain our equipment prior to the event. Finding out the failure of equipment on the site and failing to meet the demand of tire fitting work is something that should never happen. This is very important.

And, once we began to work, we must perform proper and consistent service. The mission of the tire service team is to perfectly fit Yokohama's high quality racing tires on the rims, and to hand the complete wheels to the drivers or teams in the condition that the tires can perform at their best.

Apart from joining the members to work on the tire fitting, as the chief of the tire service team, I am responsible for watching the physical conditions of dozens of members, optimizing the arrangement of them, and deciding the timing to take a break. All of these are important factors to make sure the safe operation throughout the weekend. In addition, even after the day's work, I always try to deepen the relationship among the team members, for example, at mealtimes. In short, I am in position to care about almost everything about the team.

The fascination of Macau Grand Prix exists in the fact that it is a street track race event on the closed public roads. Along with the feature F3 race, the event includes touring car races, such as WTCC, and even motor cycle races. I have been there as a member of the tire service team many times now but I still can't help feeling that I wish I could drive a race car on this track (laugh).

As you know, many of top Formula One drivers are the Macau F3 graduates and, in particular, the duel between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen in 1990 is still unforgettable for me. But I was really surprised when I saw both of them come to our tire service garage on the night before the qualifying day. They took along their team managers, carrying two wheels each by hand, and waited there until we finished the fitting of their new set of tires. Seeing their insistence on every detail even out of the track, I felt they were no ordinary young drivers and their battles on the track were extremely fierce in fact.

And it was just one example, which I could recall instantly, of many legendary battles in Macau Grand Prix. Behind such battles, Yokohama Tire has been there to supply their reliable foot gears and our tire service team has been working for them. This year, Yokohama Tire becomes the official tire supplier for as many as three race categories, namely F3, WTCC and GT Asia. With many drivers using our products in other supporting races, the tire service team will be quite busy throughout the race week.

For this 30th anniversary year, we will keep the same principle in mind, that is the proper and consistent servicing, which has been unchanged since our first year at Macau. By making the most of what individual members have and working in harmony with mutual respect, we will make sure the safe operation at the garage.