Press Release

  • Motorsport

Siblings win FIA Junior ERC title in Hankook’s first season

  • Norbert and Francesca Maior crowned champions
  • Thrilling rally action in six different countries
  • Hankook performs strongly on all surfaces
Siblings win FIA Junior ERC title in Hankook’s first season

Neu-Isenburg, Germany, 12.10.2023 – The Rally Hungary at the start of October brought to an end an exciting first season for Hankook in the FIA Junior European Rally Championship (JERC). Success on the final special stage saw Romanian siblings Norbert and Frencesca Maior not only secure their first win of the season, but also the title in the European rally championship for juniors. “We fought hard all season for this success. It feels incredible to have won,” said an overjoyed Norbert Maior at the finish. Since 2014, FIA Junior ERC has been an extremely important pillar in the development of youth on the rallying scene. Four different manufacturers from the Rally4 class feature in this championship. The production-based cars have front-wheel drive generating roughly 210 hp, and all start on Hankook tyres.

In the 2023 season, the young drivers in FIA Junior ERC started in six different countries and, with a host of different winners, demonstrated its strength in depth. Norway’s Ola Nore Junior started the season strongly, winning the rallies in Poland and Latvia. In Sweden, victory went to local favourite Isak Reiersen. Roberto Daprá also won his home event in Italy, while Germany’s Timo Schulz dominated in the Czech Republic. Coming into the finale in Hungary, Maior topped the overall standings with 106 points. Just four points separated him from second-placed Daprá. Even Nore Junior was poised to pounce, just twelve points behind the leader. In the end, the Maior siblings won the rally and the championship by a mere 7.1 seconds.

Hankook performs strongly on all surfaces

As exclusive tyre partner of FIA Junior ERC, premium tyre maker Hankook embarked on a new chapter at the start of the year. To cope with the different surfaces, Hankook supplied the competitors with the Hankook Ventus Z215 (asphalt) and the Hankook Dynapro R211 (gravel). The two premium tyres showed no weaknesses in diverse conditions, providing perfect grip on every special stage.

Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook Motorsport Director Europe: “Congratulations to the worthy winners, who once again showed their strength at the finale in Hungary. However, I would also like to thank all the other competitors and the organisers of this year’s FIA Junior ERC. They showed the quality of young rally crews in Europe. We at Hankook are delighted that the drivers consistently benefitted from the high performance of our premium tyres on such a wide range of surfaces. The trust in this quality is hugely important for all drivers, but particularly the youngsters, and that will continue to be the case in the coming season.” 

Hankook Tire manufactures innovative, high-performance tyres for passenger cars, SUVs, light trucks, RVs, trucks, buses and motorsports. With five R&D centres and eight production facilities worldwide, Hankook continuously invests in research and development to offer the highest level of quality and driving satisfaction. The company employs around 20,000 people globally and sells products in over 160 countries. Hankook Tire has been the exclusive tyre supplier for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship since 2023. Leading car manufacturers rely on Hankook tyres for original equipment. More than 38 percent of global sales are generated in Europe.

Hankook’s European headquarters are located in Neu-Isenburg, Germany. At its European Technical Centre in Hanover, Germany and its manufacturing site in Rácalmás, Hungary, Hankook develops and produces bespoke tyre solutions for the European market.

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

Siblings win FIA Junior ERC title in Hankook’s first season

Participants seen at FIA ERC - Fia European Rally Championship 2023 at Nyiregyhaza, Hungary on October 8, 2023. // @World / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202310080243 // Usage for editorial use only //

File size: 3 MB

Siblings win FIA Junior ERC title in Hankook’s first season

Norbert MAIOR at FIA ERC - Fia European Rally Championship 2023 at Nyiregyhaza, Hungary on October 8, 2023. // @World / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202310080151 // Usage for editorial use only //

File size: 2 MB

Siblings win FIA Junior ERC title in Hankook’s first season

Norbert MAIOR at FIA ERC - Fia European Rally Championship 2023 in Rome, Italy on July 28, 2023. // @World / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202307280729 // Usage for editorial use only //

File size: 4 MB

Siblings win FIA Junior ERC title in Hankook’s first season

Ola Nore at FIA ERC - Fia European Rally Championship 2023 at Liepaja, Latvia on June 17. 2023 // @World / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202306180099 // Usage for editorial use only //

File size: 2 MB

Siblings win FIA Junior ERC title in Hankook’s first season

Roberto DAPRA in action at FIA ERC - Fia European Rally Championship 2023 at Rome, Italy on July 29, 2023. // @World / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202307290229 // Usage for editorial use only //

File size: 3 MB

Contacts

Sabine Riedel

PR Manager Marketing Communications

 +49 (0) 6102 8149-178

Lisa Schmid

PR Manager Marketing Communications

+49 (0) 6102 8149-172

Julia-Larissa Büsch

PR Manager Marketing Communications

 +49 (0) 160 2545279

Zoë Baldwin

Marketing Manager
Hankook Tyre UK Ltd

 +44 7948 247048

Natasha Ramos Smyth

Marketing Executive
Hankook Tyre UK Ltd

 +44 7961 601839

Subscribe to the Hankook press releases