The Australasian Safari has secured Toyo tyres for its course vehicles for the second successive year.
The event had been adversely affected by multiple punctures and tyre failures on its course cars until it switched to Toyo rubber in 2012.
The partnership with Toyo Tires is regarded by event director Justin Hunt as a major investment in course safety and competitor security.
"We didn't have even one failure on any of our course vehicles last year - and it's difficult to believe that it was just down to luck," Hunt said.
The Australasian Safari - the sister event to the famous Dakar Rally - will be held between 19 and 27 September and cover a tortuous route from Perth to Carnarvon and back.
First held in 1985, the Safari is regarded as one of the most difficult on the international rally raid calendar.
Competitors and course vehicles cover 2800 competitive kilometres and a total 3200 event kilometres over extremely rough terrain in ambient temperatures that often exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.
Justin Hunt says the podium results of each Safari since 2007 have been determined by tyre management.
"The ability to handle high heat with low inflation is critical to tyre survival on the Safari," he said.
"Tyre integrity is further tested by the need to regularly deflate and reinflate tyres according to the conditions.
"Many tyres cannot stand the rigours of regular reinflation across conditions which vary from soft sand to hard flint stones," Hunt said.
"Even with conservative management outright contenders are likely to cycle through a set of tyres every two days, and sometimes much faster."
Toyo has provided its production Open Country M/T off-road tyre to the Safari to be used on the four-wheel drive course vehicles which precede and sweep the event.
The Zero Car - the vehicle which immediately clears the course in front of competitors - drives at rally pace.
The ability of each course car to complete the course is critical to the safe management of the event.
Hunt expects each of his course vehicles to complete the 2013 event without a tyre change or rotation - although each will carry two mounted spares.
"Our vehicles are modified not for speed but for survival, yet each carries at least 300kg of additional equipment putting substantial pressure on suspension and tyres," he said.
The Australasian Safari has introduced an initiative to reinforce its pre-eminent status as an international cross-country event. For 2013 the Australasian Safari is a round of the prestigious Dakar Challenge.
The highest placed car competitor on Toyo tyres will have their event tyre costs reimbursed.
