BURIRAM, Thailand: Giti Tire was a race tire supplier for 3 classes of races at the recent Idemitsu Super Endurance Southeast Asia Trophy 2023 race.
Notably, Giti performance tyres were also fitted on prototype race cars, running on renewable fuels, entered by Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda's privateer team Rookie Racing.
The prototype race cars were the hybrid Prius GR and GR86 concepts, both using carbon-neutral (CN) fuel derived from renewable bio-fuel and hydrogen, as well as a hydrogen-powered GR Corolla H2.
The race, also called the Thailand 10-hour Endurance Race, was held on December 22 and 23, 2023 at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram.
In a statement, Giti Tire said the 10-hour endurance race challenged not only the drivers and vehicles, but also the durability and performance of their tyres.
Shiroo Chia, Giti Tire head of international marketing, said, "Motorsports remains a core interest of Giti as the extreme conditions of the races and skill of the racers allow us to gain invaluable data which is then used to improve the products we bring to the market."
"The team at Giti are dedicated to seeing success for the drivers at the Idemitsu Super Endurance Southeast Asia Trophy 2023," added Ge Feng Lei, Giti Tire general manager (R&D – motorsports).
"It is imperative that we continue to invest in the real-world testing of our tires, getting valuable qualitative feedback from the drivers so we can continue to expand the frontiers of tire technology," he said.
Giti tyres were used in the race's Class D2 (with GitiCompete GTR1), and Class D3 and D4 (with GitiCompete GTR2 Pro).
Giti engineers had landed in Thailand in early November 2023 to work closely with two of the top Thai Drivers, Weerachat Piyawarangkul (Kong) and Aniwat Lommahadthai (Mai), in the tyre development and selection process.
The testing was conducted with a Honda Integra fitted with 245/625R17 GitiCompete GTR1 tyres, and a Toyota Vios fitted with 195/55R15 GitiCompete GTR2 Pro tyres.
Giti Tire said the race had provided its team with a valuable opportunity to identify tyres that can adapt to the diverse climates and nuances of the region.
Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Singapore, the company has grown to over 30,000 global employees and distributes to more than 130 countries.
Giti Tire's European R&D facilities are in Hannover, Germany and the renowned MIRA facility in the UK, working in conjunction with other global research and development centres in China, Indonesia and the United States.
