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A well-balanced Finn in the W Series on Hankook race tyres

The W Series entered the second half of its inaugural season at the Norisring. The all-female field of drivers already have four rounds behind them in 2019. The fourth of the season’s six races took place last weekend on Germany’s only street circuit in Nuremberg, where the W Series again shared the bill with the DTM. The 20 participants from 15 countries are supported by partner and premium tyre maker Hankook, which has been supplying the W Series with the Formula variant of its Ventus Race tyre from the word go.
A well-balanced Finn in the W Series on Hankook race tyres

Nuremberg/Germany, 8th July 2019 – Emma Kimilainen was one of 54 applicants to qualify for the W Series. As early as five, she used to sit in a self-constructed car and happily drive lap after lap. “My father was a motorsport fan, but never actually drove himself. He built me a small car, for which you had to use a crank handle to generate electricity, in order to be able to drive it. Later on, I switched to karting,” the Finn recalls.

At the age of 15, Kimilainen moved to Formula Ford. She finished runner-up in the Finnish championship, an achievement she matched the following year in Formula NEZ. That was followed by outings in the ADAC Formula Masters, before she took a break to become mother of a daughter. However, she never lost her passion for motorsport. “I knew as a 12-year-old that I wanted to be a racing driver. When I sat in the cockpit, I felt every nuance, every movement of the car, and became one with the car. No other sport was able to offer me that perfection and the speed.” And so, the Finn returned to the wheel of a race car in 2014, when she entered the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. One year later, she was fifth in the Camaro Cup Finland. At the same time, she was also working as a development driver for Tesla, before applying for the W Series.

In her opinion, the new race format is not there to avoid men, but to provide a platform, on which women can showcase their skills in motor racing. “I know a lot of girls who would really like to be involved in motorsport. However, they do not feel represented and ultimately give it a miss. In the W Series, they see women behind the wheel, in the pit lane and on the pit wall. That is a signal to many,” says the 29-year-old, who keeps fit by doing martial arts in her spare time.

In the race, Kimilainen is ably assisted by the Hankook race tyre, which boasts a high degree of consistency that is particularly valuable on the bumpy Norisring street circuit. “Given the severe bouncing in Nuremberg, I initially thought that the tyre would wear over the course of a race. However, the Hankook race tyre remained equally quick throughout the entire distance and showed as good as no signs of wear. It gives the car optimal balance right through to the finish,” Kimilainen explains.

After her racing career, the Finn, who has a Bachelor in International Business and is studying Management on a distance learning course, would like to remain in the world of sport as a coach. Before that, however, she is out to make history. “My dream is to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside two colleagues from the W Series – and to win the race.”

Hankook produceert wereldwijd innovatieve, prijswinnende high performance radiaalbanden voor het premium segment voor auto's, SUV's, terreinwagens, lichte vrachtwagens, vrachtwagens en bussen evenals voor de autosport (circuit- en straatracen/rally's).

Hankook investeert voortdurend in onderzoek en ontwikkeling om haar klanten steeds de hoogste kwaliteit in combinatie met uitstekende technologie te bieden. In vijf ontwikkelingscentra en acht grote fabrieken wereldwijd ontwikkelt en produceert Hankook bandoplossingen, die specifiek zijn afgestemd op de wensen en eisen van de regionale markten. In Europa vindt de bandontwikkeling voor de lokale markten en eerste montage plaats in overeenstemming met de toonaangevende Europese autofabrikanten in het regionale technisch centrum in Hannover/Duitsland. De banden worden onder andere geproduceerd in de ultramoderne Europese fabriek in Rácalmás/ Hongarije, die in 2007 werd ingewijd en voortdurend uitgebreid wordt.

Het Europese hoofdkwartier van de bandenfabrikant is gevestigd in Neu-Isenburg, Duitsland in de buurt van Frankfurt am Main. De fabrikant heeft meerdere vestigingen in verschillende Europese landen en verkoopt haar producten op andere lokale markten via regionale distributeurs. Wereldwijd biedt Hankook werk aan ongeveer 20.000 mensen en levert haar producten in meer dan 160 landen. Het bedrijf is geselecteerd als de technische partner en exclusieve bandenleverancier van Generatie 3 voor het FIA ABB Formule E Wereldkampioenschap, dat start in 2023. Toonaangevende autofabrikanten vertrouwen bij de eerste montage op banden van Hankook. Ongeveer 38 procent van de wereldwijde omzet van de onderneming is afkomstig uit Europa.

Verdere informatie vindt u via www.hankooktire-mediacenter.com of www.hankooktire.com

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

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A well-balanced Finn in the W Series on Hankook race tyres

W Series Testing. Lausitzring, Germany. Sunday 14th April 2019. Copyright, 2019, Colin McMaster/LAT Images/W Series.

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A well-balanced Finn in the W Series on Hankook race tyres

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A well-balanced Finn in the W Series on Hankook race tyres

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A well-balanced Finn in the W Series on Hankook race tyres

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