News

　Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. is pleased to announce that we have finalized our motorsports activity plan for 2021. This year, we will once again be supplying our high-performance tires to drivers competing on two wheels and on four wheels in various races and racing categories—from beginner-level competitions to world-class tournaments—both in Japan and worldwide. Through our active participation in motorsports, we aim to further enhance the value of our DUNLOP and FALKEN brands and augment our overall tire development capabilities while also supporting car lovers the world over and contributing to the advancement and popularization of competitive motorsports in general.

1. Four-Wheel Motorsports Activities 

○DUNLOP

TEAM Red Bull MUGEN Honda NSX-GT

The highlight of our activities in 2021 will surely be SUPER GT, which is widely considered to be the pinnacle of Japanese racing. This year, TEAM Red Bull MUGEN will join Modulo Nakajima Racing to become the second racecars competing in the GT500 Class with DUNLOP tires. We will also be supporting two new racecars in the GT300 Class, meaning that we will be supplying tires to six teams and seven racecars in total at this year’s SUPER GT.
In addition, we will also be supplying tires to many more racing teams competing in various classes in a wide range of races and racing categories throughout Japan, including the All-Japan Rally Championship, the All-Japan Gymkhana Championship, the All-Japan Dirt Trial Championship and the All-Japan Karting Championship.
At the same time, with an eye toward lowering the barriers to entry so that more and more people can enjoy competitive motorsports, we will be providing one-make tires for the Formula Regional Japanese Championship (a new FIA Global Standard tournament introduced in 2020) and other entry-level formula racing tournaments such as the FIA-F4 Championship and JAF-F4 Championship, as well as for open-participation competitions such as the VITA RACE and MINI CHALLENGE JAPAN. In addition, we will also be working to support the cultivation of young, up-and-coming drivers by sponsoring and providing tires for races that are open to amateurs, including the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 86/BRZ Race and the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge. 

○FALKEN

FALKEN Porsche 911 GT3R

This year, FALKEN will once again be competing in the legendary ADAC TOTAL 24-Hour Race (commonly known as the Nürburgring 24h-Race due to its venue: the famed Nürburgring Course in Nürburg, Germany), which is widely considered to be the world’s toughest endurance race. This year, Team FALKEN Motorsports will once again be competing for glory with not one, but two Porsche 911 GT3R racecars. Through these activities, we aim to further enhance the value of the FALKEN brand, which is already quite well regarded in Europe and North America thanks to its high performance, while at the same time contributing to the overall advancement of motorsports in general.
▷FALKEN Official Website

2. Two-Wheel Motorsports Activities

○DUNLOP

Scene from 2020 FIM Endurance World Championship

We will be supplying one-make tires to support riders competing in the Moto2 and Moto3 Classes at the FIM Grand Prix World Championship, which ranks among the world’s premier two-wheel racing tournaments. At the same time, we will also be supplying tires to three teams competing for glory in the FIM Endurance World Championship. Meanwhile, when it comes to off-road racing activities, after setting a new record by dominating in all classes at the AMA Supercross Championship (USA) for eleven consecutive years, we will once again be gunning for victory in all classes for our twelfth straight year while also aiming for the title of World Champion in the Motocross World Championship.

Here in Japan, we will be supporting many riders as they compete in a wide range of races and racing categories, including the All-Japan Road Race Championship. We will also be supplying one-make tires for 250cc motorbikes to support younger riders competing in the Junior Class at the “NSF100 HRC Trophy Championship” and other competitions held to cultivate up-and-coming riders competing in the globally popular 250cc Class. Through these activities, we hope to contribute to the creation of an environment that is more conducive to the cultivation of world-class riders right here in Japan.

■2021 DUNLOP Four-Wheel Motorsports Activity Plan Overview

SUPER GT

Class	Team	Vehicle	Driver
GT500	Modulo Nakajima Racing	Honda NSX-GT	Takuya Izawa
			Hiroki Otsu
	TEAM Red Bull MUGEN	Honda NSX-GT	Ukyo Sasahara
			Toshiki Oyu
GT300	GAINER	NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3	Katsuyuki Hiranaka
			Hironobu Yasuda
		NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3	Kazuki Hoshino
			Keishi Ishikawa
	R&D SPORT	SUBARU BRZ GT300	Takuto Iguchi
			Hideki Yamauchi
	K-tunes Racing	LEXUS RC F GT3	Morio Nitta
			Sena Sakaguchi
	LM corsa	TOYOTA GR Supra GT	Hiroki Yoshimoto
			Shunsuke Kohno

 

All-Japan Rally Championship

Class	Team	Vehicle	Driver
JN1	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing	TOYOTA GR YARIS GR4 Rally	Norihiko Katsuta
	itzz Rally Team	SUBARU WRX STI	Takuma Kamada

 

All-Japan Gymkhana Championship

Class	Team	Vehicle	Driver
JG1	TEAM URGENT	Mitsubishi Lancer	Shinji Tsugawa
JG3	Okinawa Exciting Motor Sports Club	SUZUKI SWIFT	Jun Takae
JG5	T.ASSIST	TOYOTA GR YARIS	Shigeki Kayano
	TEAM ETOILE	TOYOTA GR YARIS	Takashi Asayama
JG6	Kanetsu Sports Club	MAZDA　ROADSTER	Takahiro Nojima
JG7	Obelisk Racing Team	ABARTH 124 spider	Yohei Omata
JG8		MAZDA　ROADSTER	Tadashi Kawakita

 

All-Japan Dirt Trial Championship

Class	Team	Vehicle	Driver
JD4	MJT･HKS･DL LANCER	Mitsubishi Lancer	Kazuhiro Kitamura
JD1	Team Kuribara Auto Kikaku	SUBARU BRZ	Takuma Kamada
	ZEAL by TS-SUMIYAMA	Mitsubishi Mirage	Yuya Sumiyama

 

All-Japan Karting Championship

Class	Team	Driver
OK	MASUDA RACING PROJECT	Turbo Asahi
		Yuto Nomura
	TAKAGI PLANNING	Fuki Tanaka
		Yusuke Watanabe
		Keito Matsui
	CROCPROMOTION	Shunsuke Minagi
	CUORE	Taiga Imoto

 

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 86/BRZ Race

Class	Team	Vehicle	Driver
Professional	OTG Motor Sports	TOYOTA 86	Naoki Hattori
		TOYOTA 86	Ritomo Miyata
		TOYOTA 86	Togo Suganami
		TOYOTA 86	Remei Ito
	RECARO RACING TEAM	TOYOTA 86	Kota Sasaki
		SUBARU BRZ	Takashi Kogure
	Access Racing Team	TOYOTA 86	Hiroyuki Saka

 

FIA-F4 JAPANESE CHALLENGE

Team	Driver
OTG Motor SPORTS	Remei Ito

 

One-Make Tire Racing Category

Series Name

Formula Regional Japanese Championship

FIA-F4 Championship

JAF-F4 Championship

VITA RACE

MINI CHALLENGE JAPAN

EXGEL NEXT CUP with DUNLOP 2021 Series

 

■2021 FALKEN Four-Wheel Motorsports Activity Plan Overview

ADAC TOTAL 24-Hour Race

Class	Team	Vehicle	Driver
SP9 (FIA-GT3)	FALKEN Motorsports	Porsche 911 GT3R	Klaus Bachler
			Dirk Werner
			Sven Müller
			Alessio Picariello
		Porsche 911 GT3R	Klaus Bachler
			Martin Ragginger
			Lance David Arnold
			Thomas Preining

 

■2021 DUNLOP Two-Wheel Motorsports Activity Plan Overview

【Road Racing World Championships】

FIM Endurance World Championship

Class	Team	Vehicle	Rider
EWC	BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM	BMW	TBD
	VRD IGOL PIERRET EXPERIENCES	YAMAHA	TBD
	WOJCIK RACING TEAM	YAMAHA	TBD

 

One-Make Tire Racing Category

Series Name	Class
FIM Grand Prix World Championship	Moto2 / Moto3

 

【Off-Road Racing World Championships】

Motocross World Championship

Class	Team	Vehicle	Rider
MX1	Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team	KAWASAKI	Romain Febvre
			Ivo Monticelli
	Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing	HUSQVARNA	Arminas Jasikonis
			Thomas Kjer Olsen
	Standing Construct GsaGas Factory Racing	GASGAS	Pauls Jonass
			Brian Bogers

 

【International Road Racing Tournaments】

One-Make Tire Racing Category

Series Name	Class
FIM CEV Repsol International Championship	Moto2 / Moto3
Red Bull MotoGP ROOKIES CUP	Moto3
NORTHERN TALENT CUP	Moto3
FIM Asia Road Racing Championship	ASB1000 / SS600 / AP250 / UB150
IDEMITSU ASIA TALENT CUP	Moto3

 

【National Road Racing Tournaments】

All Japan Road Race Championship (Japan)

Class	Team	Vehicle	Rider
JSB1000	Waveinn-R	YAMAHA	Shinichi Nakatomi
J-GP3	41Planning	IODA	Yoichi Ui
	Sunny moto Racing	KTM	Akira Komuro
	Team P.MU 7C	HONDA	Hiroki Ono

 

One-Make Tire Racing Category

Series Name	Class	Country
MOTO AMERICA	SBK / ST1000 / SS600 / Twins Cup / Junior Cup / Mini Cup	USA
GP Colombia Championship	GP3 / 150cc	Colombia
Argentina SBK Championship	SBK / SS600 / R3 / 250cc	Argentina
SBK National Championship	SBK / SS600 / ST1000 / ST600	Chile
Thailand Talent Cup	Moto3	Thailand
All Japan Road Race Championship	ST1000	Japan
MFJ CUP / Regionals	JP250	Japan
HRC NSF250R Challenge	J-GP3	Japan
NSF100 HRC Trophy	Junior Championship Class	Japan
CBR250R Dream Cup	Expert Class / Beginner Class	Japan
CBR250RR Dream Cup	-	Japan
DUNLOP Gekkan AUTOBY Cup! for Gymkhana	A Class / B Class / C1 Class / C2 Class	Japan

 

【National Off-Road Racing Tournaments】

AMA Supercross Championship (USA)

Class	Team	Vehicle	Rider
450SX	Team Honda HRC	HONDA	Ken Roczen
			Chase Sexton
	Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing 450 Team	YAMAHA	Aaron Plessinger
			Dylan Ferrandis
			Malcolm Stewart
	Monster Energy Kawasaki	KAWASAKI	Eli Tomac
			Adam Cianciarulo
	Red Bull KTM Factory	KTM	Cooper Webb
			Marvin Musquin
	Rockstar Energy Husqvarna	HUSQVARNA	Jason Anderson
			Zach Osborne
			Dean Wilson
	Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing Team	GASGAS	Justin Barcia
250SX	Team Honda HRC	HONDA	Hunter Lawrence
			Jett Lawrence
	Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki	KAWASAKI	Austin Forkner
			Cameron McAdoo
			Jordon Smith
			Jo Shimada
	Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing 250 Team	YAMAHA	Christian Craig
			Colt Nichols
			Jeremy Martin
			Justin Cooper
	Rockstar Energy Husqvarna	HUSQVARNA	RJ Hampshire
			Jalek Swoll
	Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing Team	GASGAS	Michael Mosiman
			Pierce Brown

 

All-Japan Motocross Championship (Japan)

Class	Team	Vehicle	Rider
IA1	YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM	YAMAHA	Toshiki Tomita
			Yusuke Watanabe
	Team Kawasaki R&D	KAWASAKI	Chihiro Notsuka

 

All-Japan Trials Championship (Japan)

Class	Team	Vehicle	Rider
IAS	TEAM MITANI Honda	HONDA	Tomoyuki Ogawa
	Team FwO with YAMALUBE	YAMAHA	Fumitaka Nozaki
	YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM	YAMAHA	Kenichi Kuroyama

 

Japan Enduro Championship (Japan)

Class	Team	Vehicle	Rider
IA	Blue Riders with YAMALUBE	YAMAHA	Kenji Suzuki
	BIVOUAC OSAKA with RG3 Racing	GASGAS	Yoshikazu Hosaka

※Note: The above activity plan is based on the racing schedule as of the issue date of this News Release. Please understand that plans may be changed without notice.