Press Release

  • Motorsport

Pole in the USA for Mercedes-AMG at the finale of the 24H Series powered by Hankook

The drivers at the Hankook 24H COTA USA battled it out for the top grid positions on Friday afternoon. In the final qualifying session ahead of the grand finale of the Creventic 24H Series powered by Hankook, it was Jeroen Bleekemolen in the Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3 who impressed with the fastest time. The Dutchman took just 02:06.461 minutes to complete a lap of the 5.49-kilometre Circuit of the Americas. The Manthey Racing and Herberth Motorsport teams start from second and third with their Porsche 991 GT3 R. All 41 teams and 174 drivers are taking to the track on tyres provided by premium tyre maker and title sponsor, Hankook.
Pole in the USA for Mercedes-AMG at the finale of the 24H Series powered by Hankook

Austin/USA, 11th November 2017 – The drivers in the Creventic 24H Series powered by Hankook took to the track for the final qualifying session of the year at the grand finale of the season. At stake were the best grid positions for the Hankook 24H COTA USA. Dutchman Jeroen Bleekemolen will start Saturday’s race from pole position in his Mercedes-AMG GT3 (Black Falcon), followed by Manthey Racing and Herberth Motorsport. The top three cars were separated by just 0.540 seconds.

“I am happy, but I am also well aware that, with so many cars, you also need a little luck to have a free track in qualifying. The Hankook tyres worked well. The track here in Austin really puts the tyres through their paces. However, I had a good feeling all the time, and that gives you confidence,” said the pole sitter after qualifying.

The slick supplied by premium tyre maker Hankook provided the drivers with a high level of grip and great consistency, ensuring that the battle for pole position remained exciting, right down to the final second. The continental championship is up for grabs for the teams at the Hankook 24H COTA USA. This also includes the two 24-hour races in Dubai and Portimao in Portugal. The Herberth Motorsport currently leads the title race with the Porsche 991 GT3 R. Their lead over second-placed Hofor-Racing (Mercedes-AMG GT3) stands at just one point, with PROsport Performance (Porsche 991 Cup) another point back in third place. In order to make the championship even more exciting, the organisers will award one and a half times the standard points at the season finale.

All 41 teams and 174 drivers are using a standard, high-performance compound, provided by tyre partner Hankook. “We supply all the teams and drivers with identical material. That is very important to us, as it should ultimately come down to the cars and drivers,” explained Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook Motorsport Director Europe. “We had never driven here and had no reference values. That was a big challenge in the run-up to the race weekend. We primarily have our experienced engineers to thank for the fact that the tyre is working so well for all the drivers. It is very important to find the right compromise with the high-performance compound, as the tyre must work well in high temperatures during the daytime, and in the cold at night,” said Sandbichler.

The tyres were shipped to the USA in 13 containers for the practice sessions, qualifying and the endurance race itself. Furthermore, more than 30 Hankook engineers and service experts are also on site to ensure that the teams receive a perfect tyre service throughout the entire race weekend.

Hankook Tire manufactures globally innovative, award-winning radial tyres of proven superior quality for passenger cars, light trucks, SUVs, RVs, trucks, and buses as well as motorsports (circuit racing/street circuits/rallies).

Aspiring to bring consumers the utmost excellence in product quality, technological excellence and driving satisfaction, Hankook Tire continuously invests in research and development maintaining five R&D centres and eight production facilities around the world. Bespoke tyre solutions for the European markets as well as European Original Equipment according to the requirements of leading premium car manufacturers, are developed in the company’s regional Technical Centre in Hanover/Germany. Production for the European region is taking place in the state-of-the-art manufacturing site in Rácalmás/Hungary which was inaugurated in June 2007 and is continuously being expanded.

Hankook Tire’s European headquarters are located in Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt am Main in Germany. The manufacturer operates further branches in several European countries and sells its products through regional distributors in other local markets. Hankook Tire employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide and sells products in over 160 countries. The company has been the technical partner and exclusive tyre supplier of the Generation 3 for the FIA ABB Formula E World Championship since 2023. Internationally leading car manufacturers rely on tyres made by Hankook for their original equipment. Approximately 38 percent of the company's global sales are generated within the European region.

For more information please visit www.hankooktire-mediacenter.com or www.hankooktire.com

Hankook Tire Europe GmbH | Marketing Communications Europe | Siemensstr. 14, 63263 Neu-Isenburg | Germany

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Pole in the USA for Mercedes-AMG at the finale of the 24H Series powered by Hankook

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Contacts

Sabine Riedel

PR Manager Marketing Communications

 +49 (0) 6102 8149-178

Sabine Riedel

PR Manager Marketing Communications

 +49 (0) 6102 8149-178

Lisa Schmid

PR Manager Marketing Communications

+49 (0) 6102 8149-172

Alexander Nevinny-Stickel

PR Manager Marketing Communications

+49 (0) 6102 8149-173

Annika Malcherek

Annika Malcherek

Digital Lead Marketing Communications

+49 (0) 6102 8149-176

Stefan Prohaska

Stefan Prohaska

Digital Marketing Communications

 +49 (0) 6102 8149-171

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