Hockenheim/Germany, 11th October 2016 – The Hockenheimring has a very varied layout. The 4.574-kilometre strip of asphalt consists of slow, narrow sections, as well as fast corners and straights. While the drivers reach up to 270 km/h in the Parabolika, the cars must slow to 65 km/h in the first of the hairpins. “The many bumps at the Hockenheimring hamper handling in the braking zones. As such, it is important to get the right balance, in order to keep the car steady and find the ideal breaking point,” explains Hankook DTM race engineer Thomas Baltes.
Despite the rather rough asphalt, the running surface of the Hankook race tyre is barely put under any strain on the dark track, the surface of which differs in places. However, the high kerbs, which often have sharp edges, do pose a challenge. Thomas Baltes: “The drivers cross the curves at high speed, and the cars sometimes catch on the kerbs as they return to the track. This puts particular strain on the tyre sidewalls. However, the Hankook tyre has mastered this challenge successfully in recent years.”
The structure of the Ventus Race is subjected to strong lateral forces in the long, fast corners. For this reason, it is important that the air pressures are not too low, in order to avoid the race tyre flexing. Tyre pressure will also play a key role if the weather is cool at the DTM finale, as is so often the case. “Should it be cold at the Hockenheimring, the teams will have to work with specific shock absorber settings and different air pressures, in order to get the Hankook slick to work to its full potential. However, they have always managed this in the past,” says the Hankook race engineer.
Spectators can look forward to two exciting races and the unique atmosphere at the Hockenheimring, which can hold a capacity of 120,000 motor racing fans in its large grandstands, which offer views of one quarter of the circuit. Sharing the bill with the DTM again will be two junior series, for whom Hankook is the exclusive supplier: the Audi TT Cup and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.
