FULLERTON, CA. – (Nov. 13, 2012) – Yokohama Tire Corporation-sponsored off-roaders Cameron and Heidi Steele are heading to Mexico’s Baja Peninsula to compete in the storied SCORE Tecate Baja 1000, November 14-17. The Steeles, along with their Desert Assassins teammates, will race on various Geolandar® tires along the demanding course. The 45th running of the race goes from Ensenada to La Paz and is the SCORE racing series season finale.

Two-time SCORE Person of the Year Cameron Steele has two 800-horsepower Trophy Trucks in the race. Each features newly developed 40-inch Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S® R tires specially engineered for extreme off-road conditions. Trophy Trucks, like Steele’s No. 16 Monster Energy/Yokohama Tire and No. 14 Yokohama Tire vehicles, have 26 inches of front-wheel travel and 36 inches of rear-wheel travel, and can hit a top speed of 135 mph.

Trophy Truck veterans Mark Miller and Mark Post recently joined Steele and Desert Assassins drivers Josh Daniel and Mike Johnson for the Baja 1000 run.

Heidi Steele, the defending Class 6 SCORE (Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts) champion, will again race with Desert Assassins co-driver Rene Brugger.  They will battle Baja in a Ford Ranger equipped with off-the-shelf Geolandar M/T+® tires.

“There’s nothing like the Baja 1000,” said Cameron Steele. “It’s an iconic race that’s always a tough challenge, but we have total confidence in our team and our Yokohama tires to put us in a good position for a podium finish.”

“The legendary Baja 1000 is the Super Bowl of off-road racing,” said Duane Sampson, Yokohama’s motorsports manager. “Cam, Heidi and the Desert Assassins are ready to roll and make a serious run for it on Geolandar tires. It’s always a great race.”

Also competing in Baja will be the Desert Assassins’ Brent Parkhouse and co-driver Brian Burgess, currently number two in the Class 12 (SCORE Lite) division. The Parkhouse-Burgess team will be shooting for the championship in their Yokohama tire-shod buggy.

Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a global manufacturing and sales company of premium tires since 1917. Servicing a network of more than 4,500 points of sale in the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation is a leader in technology and innovation. The company’s complete product line includes the all-new AVID Ascend® –  the first mass-market tire using Yokohama’s breakthrough orange oil technology – as  well as tires for high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, and off-the-road mining and construction applications. For more information on Yokohama’s extensive product line, visit www.yokohamatire.com.