IFM round nine winner Kasper Andersen
YOKOHAMA ADVAN ON TOP COME RAIN OR SHINE


Media information: 28 July 2007


The Yokohama ADVAN tyre proved itself in all conditions at Anderstorp with Dane Kasper Andersen taking a hard-fought International Formula victory in the dry and SEAT's Tiago Monteiro claiming pole position for the seventh round of the World Touring Car Championship in the wet.

Andersen, driving for J.D.Motorsport, fought his way up from fourth on the grid to pass Marco Bonanomi's Euronova entry for the lead at Hansen Corner in the closing stages of the first International Formula Master race of the weekend. His performance was all the more impressive as all the weekend's previous running had been in wet conditions, and Andersen pointed to the consistency of the high-grip Yokohama ADVAN tyre as vital in taking his second win of the season.

"In practice we drove only in the rain and I have to say I was very surprised by the amount of grip the Yokohama rain tyres gave me in the conditions," said Andersen. "Anderstorp is a very slippery circuit in the wet, but the tyres gave me a lot of grip. It was the same in the dry. Normally at this circuit you have a lot of understeer, but throughout the race I had more grip in the corners than I expected. I was able to push hard from the first lap right to the end of the race."

Jerome D'Ambrosio finished second to extend his championship lead, with 17-year-old Pablo Sanchez Lopez taking another podium in third for Alan Racing.



WTCC pole-setter at Anderstorp, Tiago Monteiro Monteiro was the last driver to cross the line during the World Touring Car Championship qualifying, and the ex-Formula 1 driver paid tribute to the wet performance of the Yokohama ADVAN tyre which he used to knock the Chevrolet Lacetti of Nicola Larini off pole position.

"In the first test session I was really amazed by the grip the tyres had in the wet," said Monteiro. "It was even more slippery today because the track conditions had changed, but in the last two or three laps I really had the confidence to push hard. They were very consistent in those last laps, and that allowed me to attack hard in the closing stages, which you have to do to be quick in the wet."

"When you are producing a tyre which will be used all around the world it is essential that it works in all conditions," said Yokohama Europe Motorsport Manager Matthijs Mathlener. "At Anderstorp this was proved in the space of a few hours and it's very encouraging to have such positive feedback from the drivers whether it's wet or dry. With the conditions so unpredictable in this part of the world, that's going to ensure that tomorrow's races will be fantastic whatever the weather."