Press Release

  • Motorsport

Rollercoaster at Brands Hatch challenging for DTM drivers and the Hankook racing tyres

Brands Hatch is set to host races eleven and twelve of the DTM this weekend. The legendary track in the English county of Kent returned to the tour calendar in 2018. Since then, the DTM races have been held on the 3.908-kilometre Grand Prix track and not on the 1.973-kilometre Indy version as in previous years. The final international stop of the 2019 DTM season, around 30 kilometres south east of London, is another endurance test for the racing tyres of premium maker Hankook, with similarly high levels of strain as in Assen, the Netherlands, three weeks ago.
Rollercoaster at Brands Hatch challenging for DTM drivers and the Hankook racing tyres

Neu-Isenburg/Germany, 6th August 2019 – The 3.908-kilometre demanding track surrounded by nature at Brands Hatch leads through woodland, has six right turns and three left turns, as well as narrow, angular sections. The track surface has a medium level of grip. “Unlike on the smooth, closed asphalt in Assen, the tyres interlock with the track surface at Brands Hatch much better. This means that there is not as much strain on the tread. However, the powerful turbo engines mean that the tyres are put under great strain when accelerating out of the slower sections,” explained Hankook’s DTM race engineer Thomas Baltes.

Another feature of the iconic English track is the great differences in altitude. From the highest point on the start-finish straight, the cars go through the ultrafast Paddock Hill Bend turn into a dip. This is followed by an uphill section and the subsequent Druids hairpin bend, the slowest section of the track. Thomas Baltes: “Like on the Nordschleife at the Nürburgring, there are many uphill and downhill sections at Brands Hatch, which are driven through at great speed. The arising compression increases the strain, which already affects the construction of the Ventus Race through the aerodynamics. The turns that are very fast in places and the high kerbs, which are driven over at top speed, also increase the stress level for the Hankook racing tyres.”

When tuning the car, the asymmetric track layout at Brands Hatch needs to be considered and a compromise found that enables high top speed while maintaining maximum traction. “We have twice as many right-hand turns as left-hand turns, which puts more strain on the front left tyre. This one-sided strain can be reduced with the appropriate car set-up. The long straights mean that the tuning also needs to be aiming for top speed, while also enabling a lot of traction in the narrow sections. Which is why Brands Hatch will be a real challenge for teams, drivers and the Hankook racing tyres once again,” said the Hankook DTM race engineer.

As part of the supporting programme of the DTM, the season finale of the W Series will also be held at Brands Hatch, which is also supplied with racing tyres exclusively by premium maker Hankook.

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

Downloads

Rollercoaster at Brands Hatch challenging for DTM drivers and the Hankook racing tyres

Brands Hatch: DTM Brands Hatch 2018 on August, 11, 2018, (Photo by Hoch Zwei) Start Lucas Auer ( AUT, Mercedes HWA AG )

File size: 3 MB

Rollercoaster at Brands Hatch challenging for DTM drivers and the Hankook racing tyres

Assen: DTM Assen 2019 on July, 21, 2019, (Photo by Hoch Zwei)

File size: 2 MB

Rollercoaster at Brands Hatch challenging for DTM drivers and the Hankook racing tyres

Brands Hatch: DTM Brands Hatch 2018 on August, 11, 2018, (Photo by Hoch Zwei) Robin Frijns ( NED, Audi Sport Team Abt )

File size: 2 MB

Rollercoaster at Brands Hatch challenging for DTM drivers and the Hankook racing tyres

Start *** Local Caption *** +++ www.hoch-zwei.net +++ copyright: HOCH ZWEI +++

File size: 3 MB

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

Subscribe to the Hankook press releases