Kris Heidorn sets sights on winning Audi Sport Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup on Hankook tyres

The second half of the Audi Sport Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup gets underway this weekend at Brands Hatch, England. The professionals, juniors and gentlemen drivers have contested six races so far in the one-make cup, which shares the bill with the DTM and is in its inaugural season this year. Premium tyre maker Hankook supplies the new series exclusively with the high-performance Ventus Race tyre. With its durability and consistency, the tyre primarily offers newcomers the level of safety required as they take their first steps in motorsport.

Brands Hatch/England, 12th August 2018 – Kris Heidorn has plenty of motor racing experience and is among the front-runners in the Audi Sport Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup. The man from Wunstorf, near Hanover, first took his place at the wheel of a kart aged just six, and has wanted to be nowhere else ever since. He used the money he received for his confirmation to buy his own kart and take his first step on the motorsport ladder. “I won several titles in kart slalom. My biggest success was finishing runner-up in the German championship,” says 29-year-old Heidorn.

He completed his instructor training in 2009 and was part of the Seyffarth team in the Polo, Scirocco and Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland in the years that followed. Heidorn: “After that, I cut down a little on the amount of motorsport I was involved in, and gave driver training courses around the world for various manufacturers. Helping the juniors in the Seyffarth team was also always very close to my heart.”

For this reason, he didn’t hesitate to enter the Audi Sport Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup when it was launched this season. The 29-year-old dominated the 15-car field from the word go, although the competition has since caught up with him – something the instructor believes is to the credit of Hankook’s Ventus Race. “The Hankook race tyre is consistently quick, which really helps the less-experienced drivers. You do not have to immediately set a fast time at the very start of qualifying, in case the tyres degrade the longer you go into a stint. With the Hankook slick, you can get used the track and then still clock a really top time at the end of qualifying,” says the Audi driver.

Heidorn is particularly impressed by the premium tyre maker’s wet-weather tyres. “When the storm hit in Budapest, I did not believe that we would be able to race at all in those conditions. However, it was not a problem on the Hankook wet tyre. It provided good feedback and I was really able to push hard on the extremely wet track.”

Heidorn will doubtless be pushing hard again in the coming races in the Audi Sport Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup, which he has his sights set on winning in its inaugural season. “I have made a profession out of my hobby and drive the greatest cars at the most beautiful racetracks in the world. I am living my dream.”

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

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