News

The Sumitomo Rubber Group is pleased to announce that our European tire sales subsidiary, FALKEN Tyre Europe GmbH, will be competing as Team FALKEN Motorsports in one of the world’s premier touring car races: the Nürburgring 24h Race (Official Name: ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring), which will be held this coming June 19 through 22 in Nürburg, Germany.
In addition, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.  is also pleased to announce that we will be supplying our high-performance FALKEN Tires to SUBARU TECNICA INTERNATIONAL INC., who will be competing in the SP4T Class with their SUBARU WRX NBR CHALLENGE 2025 racecar. Through such high-profile exposure at this year’s Nürburgring 24h Race, we hope to further enhance the value of our FALKEN Brand, which has already garnered widespread popularity throughout Europe and North America, by leveraging the brand’s high performance and reliabili

 

FALKEN Motorsports　「Porsche 911 GT3R」	SUBARU WRX NBR CHALLENGE 2025

The Sumitomo Rubber Group has competed in the Nürburgring 24h Race since 1999, and this year marks our 26th year of competition in the race.*1 We have demonstrated the technical advantages and high performance of the FALKEN Brand for many years in this race, which is widely known as the world’s toughest endurance race.

Last year’s race was plagued by bad weather from even before the beginning. The race was suspended for many hours at night due to a dense fog. With no improvement in weather conditions, the race was brought to a close before the end of 24 hours for the first time in Nürburgring history. In spite of these challenging conditions, FALKEN Tires delivered outstanding all-around performance, helping us finish in 6th and 10th places overall. As a result, Team FALKEN Motorsports achieved the outstanding feat of finishing in Top 10 for 11 consecutive years.

This year again, Team FALKEN Motorsports will be gunning for the title with two Porsche 911 GT3R racecars. The team has accomplished good results, including two wins and four podium finishes out of the five races across the Nürburgring Qualifiers (Official Name: ADAC 24H Nürburgring Qualifiers) and the Nürburgring Endurance Series (Official Name: Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie), which took place in the run-up to the Nürburgring 24h Race.*2, 3
 

Under new Team Manager Takuya Sawada, the team aims to win the Class Title for two years running and to secure a top overall place this year through new specifications with enhanced aerodynamic performance and durability. SUBARU TECNICA INTERNATIONAL has the full support of eight mechanics handpicked from SUBARU dealerships throughout Japan, who will be providing maintenance support on the spot. The Sumitomo Rubber Group, meanwhile, will be supplying FALKEN Tires to SUBARU TECNICA INTERNATIONAL, providing outstanding all-around performance in terms of wet and dry grip, durability and more in order to support the team right where the racecar meets the road.

In order to increase the presence of our FALKEN Brand, we will continue to supply tires / expand the supply of tires to the major teams below.

Max Kruse Racing (AT3 Class): The team led by Max Kruse, a former member of the German national football team, will this year compete with multiple racecars, including two Golf GTI Clubsport 24h racecars, aiming for consecutive championships.
 

Team BILSTEIN by BLACK FALCON (SP8T Class): The team run by BLACK FALCON, one of the prestigious teams in the sport, will compete with BMW M4 GT4 to win the Class Title.

Team Sorg Rennsport (VT2 Class): The team, which won the Class Title last year, will compete with BMW330i to win two consecutive titles.

FALKEN Tires have earned recognition for their exceptional performance and reliability, which helped increase the numbers of teams and cars to which they are supplied. We will continue to strive to improve product performance, enhance technical advantages, and increase the value of our FALKEN Brand through actual races in motor sports.
 

*1. We did not compete only in 2006.

 * Team assignments are subject to change.

Teams supported by FALKEN

Max Kruse Racing VW Golf GTI Clubsport 24h	Team BILSTEIN by BLACK FALCON BMW M4 GT4 EVO

■ Nürburgring 24h-Race

Taking place at the Nürburgring, which is also famously used as an R&D test track for automobile and tire manufacturers, this 24-hour endurance race is considered by many to be the world’s toughest race. At around 25 km per lap, the race makes use of the Nürburgring’s full course, combining the Nordschleife (North Loop), which features an elevation difference of 300 m between its highest and lowest points and some 170 corners (including blind corners), and the more modern Grand Prix Circuit, which was also used for F1 racing.