FULLERTON, CA. – (July 13, 2012) – The return of five-time off-road champion Heidi Steele to pro racing after giving birth to her first child is presented in a new video by Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC). The nine-minute video, created by Air, Land + Sea Films, is on YTC’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/
“The video is beautifully shot and tells Heidi’s compelling, personal story,” said Andrew Briggs, director of product planning and motorsports for Yokohama, one of Heidi’s main sponsors. “People watching the video will learn, from Heidi’s perspective, what it’s like balancing motherhood with a professional racing career.”
Set against the recent SCORE (Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts) Baja 500 in Mexico – Heidi’s first race in seven months – the film follows Heidi, her husband Cameron (a Trophy Truck veteran and two-time SCORE Person of the Year) and their two-month-old daughter, Cameron Kay Steele.
“It felt great to be back racing,” said Heidi, “but it was very hard to give my daughter to my family at the race while I was practicing and competing.”
Heidi, the defending overall SCORE Class 6 champion, and co-driver/Desert Assassins teammate Rene Brugger came through with a second-place finish, handling the tough Baja terrain in a Ford Ranger equipped with off-the-shelf Yokohama Geolandar M/T+® tires.
“Jumping back into major competition like the Baja 500 was a major milestone,” said Heidi, who has won the event twice. “Racing is different now that I’m a mom. I was always a cautious driver, but now I’m even more cautious.”
The video was written, directed and shot by Air, Land + Sea’s Boyd Jaynes and Jimmy Lee Cook. Jaynes has known Heidi and Cameron for decades. “I went to high school with them,” he said. “They are an amazing couple.”
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.
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