Vehicle running on YOKOHAMA GEOLANDAR tires wins overall championship at the Asia Cross Country Rally 2025 for first time in two years

Hiratsuka, Japan—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that a vehicle equipped with its GEOLANDAR M/T G003 mud-terrain tires for SUVs and pickup trucks won the overall championship in the Asia Cross Country Rally 2025 (hereafter, AXCR), Asia’s largest cross-country rally, which was held in Thailand from August 8 to August 16. Vehicles equipped with GEOLANDAR M/T G003 tires previously won the overall championship in 2022 and 2023. Once again this year, the GEOLANDAR tire’s durability and delivery of a superior driving performance supported the winning vehicle in a grueling off-road race.

The overall championship was won by the #112 Mitsubishi Triton entered by Team Mitsubishi Ralliart and driven by Chayapon Yotha and his co-driver Peerapong Sombutwong. The Triton is Mitsubishi Motors’ global strategic model one-ton pickup truck. The #112 Triton was among the leaders from the beginning of this year’s rally, ranking 2nd overall after the first two legs and taking the top spot in Leg 3 on the rally’s third day. Overcoming fierce pressure from rival teams and some temporary trouble with their vehicle, Chayapon and Peerapong drove calmly and maintained a steady pace, defending their lead in the final Leg 8* to win a tough battle. The team’s overall victory was its first in three years since their 2022 championship.
* Legs 4 and 6 were planned to run close to the Cambodian border but were canceled due to safety concerns.

Three GEOLANDAR-equipped vehicles finished in the top 5 in this year’s AXCR, with the 4th place ISUZU SUPHAN YOKOHAMA LIQUI MOLY RACING TEAM’s #110 vehicle (driver Ditsapong Maneein, co-driver Atikij Srimongkhol) and 5th place Team Mitsubishi Ralliart’s #105 vehicle (driver Katsuhiko Taguchi, co-driver Takahiro Yasui) joining the overall champion.

YOKOHAMA’s GEOLANDAR M/T G003 tires deliver superior performance on the full range of off-road surfaces over an exceptionally long lifespan. In addition, the tire features a sturdy and aggressive design that enhances the off-road driving sensation. In addition to the AXCR, YOKOHAMA’s GEOLANDAR brand tires, including the GEOLANDAR M/T G003, have performed brilliantly in many of the most demanding off-road races around the world, including the United States, and Mexico.

First held in 1996, AXCR is an FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) officially sanctioned race, similar to the Dakar Rally. This year’s rally was staged in Thailand, starting and finishing in Pattaya and covering more than 2,000km. This year’s course took drivers through plantations, narrow forest roads, and challengingly bumpy mountain roads. In addition to sandy and rocky surfaces, drivers had to deal with mud and huge puddles caused by rain squalls, making this year’s AXCR tough on the vehicles and tires once again.

The consumer tire strategy in Yokohama Rubber’s three-year (2024–2026) medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2026 (YX2026), aims to maximize the sales ratios of high-value-added tires by expanding sales of YOKOHAMA’s global flagship ADVAN brand, the GEOLANDAR brand of tires for SUVs and pickup trucks, winter tires, and 18-inch and larger tires. Yokohama Rubber positions participation in motorsports activities as crucial to its effort to further strengthen the ADVAN and GEOLANDAR brands. Yokohama Rubber therefore is again participating in a wide variety of motorsports events around the globe, from top-category to grassroots events.

Last year’s AXCR was very frustrating for us because engine trouble forced us to retire our vehicle that was in the lead for the overall championship in the latter half of the course. This year, however, we were able to win the overall championship thanks to the Triton’s enhanced durability and the accumulated collective strength of a team participating in its fourth AXCR. I thank everyone for their support. Again this year, Team Mitsubishi Ralliart selected Yokohama Rubber’s GEOLANDAR M/T G003 tires for our vehicles participating in the AXCR. The GEOLANDAR M/T G003 delivers the highly stable performance needed for fast and safe driving on the AXCR course’s diverse terrains, especially when running through deep mud and wet surfaces. Our three Team Mitsubishi Ralliart vehicles were challenged by rough and rocky terrain, especially in the first half, but all three were able to run the entire course without suffering punctures or other tire problems. I think the GEOLANDAR M/T G003’s high performance and durability enabled us to win the overall championship and the Team Award.