Hankook Completes Demanding Season Opener at Rallye Monte-Carlo as the 2026 WRC Gets Underway

Rapidly changing winter conditions in the Alps placed strategy and adaptability at the center of the 2026 WRC season opener
Hankook’s rally tyres supported stable competition across high-speed tarmac, snow, and ice throughout the demanding Monte-Carlo stages
The championship now moves into a challenging winter stretch, with early-season momentum carrying through to Rally Sweden

Neu-Isenburg, Germany, 27 January 2026 – Rallye Monte-Carlo, the opening round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), wrapped up on January 25 across Monaco and France, with premium tyre manufacturer Hankook supporting the season opener as the championship’s exclusive rally tyre supplier.

Rallye Monte-Carlo opened the 2026 WRC season against an unpredictable winter mountain backdrop, where snow, ice, wet asphalt, and dry tarmac repeatedly intersected across the stages. Along the tarmac roads winding through the French Alps, rapidly changing conditions remained a constant factor throughout the rally, placing tyre performance and strategic decision-making at the heart of the competition.

The rally was contested across 17 special stages totaling 339 km through Monaco and France. Despite the demanding environment, the event progressed steadily, with drivers required to respond to shifting surface conditions at every stage. Precision driving and well-timed strategic decisions proved essential throughout the season opener, which is widely regarded as one of the most challenging events on the WRC calendar.

Hankook supported the rally by supplying its Ventus Z215 tarmac rally tyre and Winter i*cept SR20 snow rally tyre, helping ensure stable competition across Monte-Carlo’s demanding winter conditions. The Ventus Z215 delivered precise handling and cornering stability on dry asphalt, while the Winter i*cept SR20 provided reliable grip across sections combining snow and ice. Together, the tyres helped drivers maintain performance throughout the rally’s characteristic winter challenges.

After a closely fought contest, Oliver Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson of the Toyota GAZOO Racing World Rally Team claimed victory at Rallye Monte-Carlo, emerging as the winner of the opening round of the 2026 WRC season. In particular, Solberg made headlines by becoming the youngest winner of the Rallye Monte-Carlo, breaking a 56-year-old record set by Björn Waldegård in 1970. Furthermore, the Toyota GAZOO Racing World Rally Team swept the podium, demonstrating overwhelming competitiveness and stable performance from the very first round of the 2026 season.

Since the 2025 season, Hankook has supplied rally tyres exclusively across all WRC classes under a three-year agreement, continuing to demonstrate its technical competitiveness on the global motorsport stage. In preparation for this role, the company conducted more than 2,000 km of driving and performance testing across eight countries from 2023 onward, leading to the development of FIA-certified high-performance rally tyres designed to deliver stable performance in harsh environments.

The 2026 FIA World Rally Championship continues with 14 rounds across four continents from January through November. The next challenge comes at Rally Sweden from February 12 to 15, where full-snow and ice stages, high-speed running on studded tyres, and extreme cold temperatures will once again place durability and traction at the forefront following the Monte-Carlo opener.

A proposito di Hankook Tire

Hankook, uno dei principali produttori mondiali di pneumatici, fornisce pneumatici radiali premium ad alte prestazioni per automobili, SUV, fuoristrada, trasporto leggero, camper, autocarri e autobus oltre che per competizioni motoristiche (gare su circuito e su strada/rally).

Hankook investe costantemente in ricerca e sviluppo al fine di offrire ai propri clienti la massima qualità, abbinata all'eccellenza tecnologica. In cinque centri di sviluppo e in otto stabilimenti situati in tutto il mondo, l'impresa sviluppa e produce pneumatici atti a soddisfare pienamente le speciali esigenze e richieste dei diversi mercati. In Europa, presso il centro tecnologico Hankook di Hannover (Germania), avviene lo sviluppo degli pneumatici per i mercati locali e il primo equipaggiamento, nel rispetto delle indicazioni delle principali case automobilistiche europee. Gli pneumatici vengono prodotti, tra l'altro, nella modernissima fabbrica europea dell'impresa di Rácalmás (Ungheria), inaugurata nel 2007 ed in continua espansione.

La sede centrale europea e tedesca Hankook si trova a Neu-Isenburg, nei pressi di Francoforte sul Meno. Il produttore gestisce altre filiali in diversi paesi europei e vende i suoi prodotti tramite distributori regionali in altri mercati locali. L'impresa dà lavoro a 20.000 dipendenti in tutto il mondo e fornisce i propri prodotti in oltre 160 paesi. L'azienda è partner tecnico e fornitore esclusivo degli pneumatici della Generazione 3 per il FIA ABB Formula E World Championship dal 2023. Gli pneumatici Hankook sono utilizzati in primo equipaggiamento dalle principali case automobilistiche internazionali. Circa il 38% del fatturato globale dell'impresa è generato all'interno dell'Europa.

Per ulteriori informazioni visitate il sito www.hankooktire-mediacenter.com o www.hankooktire.com

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