Today, Toyo Tire U.S.A Corp. formally announced that Gustavo (Tavo) Vildósola, Jr. is joining the Team Toyo Off-Road team. If you caught our BITD Henderson 250 coverage this weekend, we noted Tavo was on Toyos when he earned the overall win, but today’s news makes the partnership official.

Vildósola grew up in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico; and began desert racing in 2000.  Competing in the SCORE-International Off-Road Racing series, he drove for the first-ever Mexican team to win the 2010 Baja 1000 overall.

“I am very excited to be joining such a class organization with a tradition of winning and a commitment to excellence,” said Vildósola.  “I am confident that Vildósola Racing will continue our winning tradition with Toyo Tires.”

Making for a great start to his relationship with Toyo Tires, Vildósola won both the overall and Class 1400 during last weekend’s Henderson 250 Best In The Desert off-road race in Southern Nevada.

“We ran a clean, smart race on Saturday with no downtime.  The truck ran great all evening and our new Toyo tires performed above expectations,” said Vildósola.  “They provided superb drivability and lead us to our first victory with Toyo Tires.”

“We are excited to welcome Tavo Vildósola as our newest member of Team Toyo Off-Road,” said Stan Chen, senior manager, events and sponsorships Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp.  “Tavo brings a lot of passion to the sport, and has already proven he can win on Toyo Open Country tires.”

Also capturing a class win on Toyo Open Country tires was Team Stronghold in their #1529 MAVTV / Lucas Oil / Toyo Tires buggy. Scott and Brandon Bailey took the Class 1500 title for the team and finished fifth overall.

Vildósola Racing is based in San Diego, CA and his #21 Vildósola Racing / Ford / Toyo Tires trophy truck will compete on 39-inch Toyo® Open Country M/T®-R tires. He joins multiple desert off-road championship winning drivers on Team Toyo, including Robby Gordon and BJ Baldwin; and short-course off-road racing champion Kyle LeDuc.

To learn more about all of the Team Toyo athletes, and about the full line of tires from Toyo Tires, log onto www.toyotires.com.