Neu-Isenburg, Germany, 02.09.2021 – More than 30 cars have registered for the 22nd staging of the endurance classic in Spain. Qualifying gets underway at 17:10 (CEST), before a night session from 21:00 to 22:30. The race starts at 12:00 on Saturday. The 4.655-kilometre circuit in Barcelona has also hosted the Catalan MotoGP since 1996 – an event that was won this year by KTM factory rider Miguel Oliveira. This could be a good omen for the Portuguese. The 26-year-old is set for his international endurance debut at the Hankook 24H Barcelona, when he makes a guest appearance at the wheel of a KTM X-Bow GTX.
Four endurance races have been held so far in this year’s 24H Series powered by Hankook. The season opened with the 24-hour classic in Dubai, which was followed by three 12-hour races in Mugello (Italy), at Circuit Paul Ricard (France) and at the Hockenheimring (Germany). This weekend’s race will be the second of the year to be held over the distance of 24 hours. The next highlight in the endurance racing series, which is run by Dutch promoter Creventic, is the Hankook Coppa Florio 12H Sicily in Italy at the start of October. The series then heads to Florida for its finale, where the overall winner and class winners in the 24H Series powered by Hankook will be crowned at the Hankook 24H Sebring in November.
Premium tyre maker Hankook is also represented at the Red Bull Ring in Austria this weekend. The DTM Trophy will stage its fourth event of the season at the circuit in Styria. Hankook has been the exclusive tyre partner since the series was launched in 2020 and supplies the high-class touring car series, which features professionals and amateurs at the wheel of powerful GT cars, with the tried-and-tested Ventus Race tyre. After the Saturday race at the Red Bull Ring, the seventh race in total, the DTM Trophy enters the second half of the season on Sunday at the alpine circuit. The remaining venues are TT-Circuit Assen in the Netherlands, the Hockenheimring and the Norisring in Germany, where the season draws to a close with the presentation ceremony.
Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook Motorsport Director Europe: “We are pleased that the 24H Series powered by Hankook is back on the grid after the summer break, and it resumes with a real 24-hour classic in Spain. It will also be intriguing to see how Miguel Oliveira, who won this year’s MotoGP race in Barcelona, fares on the Hankook race tyre in his first long-distance race. In the Coppa Florio and the 24 Hours of Sebring, we then have another two highlights on the calendar, which has been put together perfectly again this year by Creventic. The DTM trophy enters the second half of the season on Sunday with race eight in Austria. This strong series has made a name for itself on the motorsport scene and is attractive to professionals, amateurs and gentlemen drivers alike. Hankook supports the DTM Trophy with the Ventus Race tyre and, as with many other emerging series, has been a reliable and competent partner from the word go.”
Photos 1+2: Petr Fryba
