Hankook and the DTM enter the second half of the season at the Moscow Raceway

Three weeks after the spectacular Sunday race at the Norisring in Nuremberg, premium tyre maker Hankook and the DTM are in Russia. Saturday’s race at the Moscow Raceway is the ninth of the DTM season in what is probably the most popular international touring car series. The DTM then enters its second half of the season in the weekend´s second race on Sunday. The demanding 3.931-kilometre circuit to the northwest of Moscow hosts the DTM for the fifth year in a row and, with its many changes in direction and combinations of corners, will pose a real test for the 18 drivers. In the past, the Hankook Ventus Race tyre has offered the drivers optimal support with its high grip level, as well as its high degree of reliability and consistency.

Moscow/Russia, 19th July 2017 – With an average speed of about 160 km/h, the Moscow Raceway is one of the slower circuits on the DTM calendar. The drivers hit their top speed of approximately 245 km/h on the 900-metre start/finish straight. The best overtaking opportunity then comes at the end of that section. “At the Moscow Raceway it is important to drive smoothly through the corners, in order to carry momentum out of the turns and to accelerate as well as possible onto the straights. Whoever does that best will be able to overtake on other parts of the track,” explains Hankook DTM race engineer Thomas Baltes.

The Hankook race tyre, which was newly developed for the start of the season, must be brought up to the ideal working temperature as quickly as possible on the smooth surface at the Moscow Raceway. Only then will the tyre develop its high level of grip. Thomas Baltes: “Since the start of the year, it has been forbidden to pre-heat the race tyres. With a balanced car set-up and slightly higher air pressure, the Ventus Race slick will soon reach the optimal temperature window on the closed surface structure at the Russian circuit.”

The increased number of corners and many changes in direction, especially the middle section of the track at the Moscow Raceway, are a real challenge for the construction of race tyres. “Whilst this doesn’t affect the Hankook DTM tyres, generally tyre tread is under greater strain here. However, compared to other DTM circuits, the overall technical stress placed on the race tyre is relatively low,” says the Hankook DTM race engineer.

All three automobile manufacturers – Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz – have tasted success at the Moscow Raceway in recent years, so fans can look forward to eventful and exciting races this weekend. Thomas Baltes said: “The Moscow Raceway has hardly any bumps, so braking ahead of the many corners is easier than at the Norisring, for example, where the cars were very unstable due to the way they bounced across the surface. Good traction is important here in Moscow, in order to be able to accelerate quickly out of the many slower passages. As it has previously, our race tyre will offer the drivers the ideal support in this regard.”

About Hankook Tire

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

all press releases