FULLERTON, CA. – Yokohama Tire Corporation-sponsored off-road racers, including Trophy Truck veteran Cameron Steele, begin the season at the 18th annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in Laughlin, Nevada, January 14-15. Steele, along with his Desert Assassin team, will be competing on various Yokohama Geolandar® tires.

Steele received the first qualifying spot for the two-day SCORE (Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts) event, which, for the first time, will be divided into two races. Steele has two Trophy Trucks entered, both on newly developed 40-inch Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S® R tires specially engineered for extreme off-road conditions.

“The 40-inch tire is a dream to race on,” said San Clemente, California-based Steele. “Yokohama and the Desert Assassins worked together on the development, and we know that our top 10 finish at last year’s Baja 1000 was just a sneak peak of what the tire can do. With the new tires mounted on our two 800-horsepower Geiser Brothers trucks, we’re ready to battle in 2012.”

Steele, who is also a TV commentator and two-time SCORE Person of the Year, will pilot the #16 Trophy Truck while Josh Daniel will start the season in the #14 truck.

Missing from the action in Laughlin will be the reigning Class 6 champion, Heidi Steele (Cameron’s wife). She will be cheering on teammate Rene Brugger as she awaits the birth of her first child, but plans a return to off-road racing later this year. “Heidi will be behind the wheel for an epic 2012 schedule, including the Baja 500, Vegas to Reno and the Baja 1000,” said Cameron Steele. “At Laughlin, Rene will drive both days in the #600 Class 6 championship truck, which runs on off-the-shelf Geolandar M/T+® tires.”

Also competing in Laughlin with the Desert Assassins will be Brent Parkhouse and Brian Burgess, who compete in the Class 12 (SCORE Lite) division. Their buggy is fitted with Yokohama’s competition-only Super Digger® tires.

“We’re looking toward another great season with Cameron, Heidi and the Desert Assassins,” said Andrew Briggs, Yokohama’s director of product planning and motorsports. “They won the title last year on the M/T+ tire and the new 40-inch Geolandar was flawless at the Baja 1000, so we are confident with the performance of the tires and about our prospects this year.”

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 dB Super E-spec™ – the world’s first tire to use orange oil to reduce petroleum – 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.