Big Hankook presence at milestone Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring
From 10th to 12th July, Hankook was at the 40th Int. Shell ADAC Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, where it exhibited an extensive range of its products, presented hands-on activities, and offered the many visitors some fascinating insights into its tyre expertise in the field of commercial vehicles, such as coaches and trucks. A total of 135,000 spectators attended the anniversary weekend, which once again underlined its status as one of the most important truck racing events in Europe. The support programme also featured the Hankook Cup and Tourenwagen Trophy, which held two 30-minute races with a full field of 43 cars. The drivers produced many exciting battles for position on the Hankook Ventus Race in both races. Michael Nolte from Willich enjoyed a perfect weekend, winning both races in his Porsche Supercup 3500.
Hankook tyres impress at high-speed rally in Estonia
From 17th to 20th July, the FIA World Rally Championship was at the Delfi Rally Estonia – one of the fastest gravel events on the calendar. Average speeds of over 120 km/h, many jumps, and demanding passages awaited the teams on the special stages around Tartu. The Hankook Dynapro R213 impressed with a consistently high level of grip, precise handling and a high degree of stability. Its robust construction and high resistance to wear also made for reliable performance on the extremely fast and varied routes. The sporting highlight came courtesy of Sami Pajari in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, who claimed his first overall victory in the World Championship. The Finn won twelve special stages to finish ahead of Oliver Solberg and Adrien Fourmaux, who took the remaining two places on the podium. Pajari and his Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans had set the fastest times in the Shakedown, giving an initial indication of the potential of the combination of the car and the Hankook tyre. Following the outing in Estonia, the FIA World Rally Championship now moves on to the Secto Rally Finland, where similarly fast gravel tracks will once again put the drivers, cars and tyres through their paces.
Highlights
Day 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbh42F-pUSE
Day 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsnLYnP2l-0
Day 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaFzaCUcAM4
Egozi extends his Eurocup-3 championship lead with Hankook in Imola
Round three of this season’s Eurocup-3 at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola (3rd to 5th July) produced three entertaining races, with many battles for position and varying formats. The Hankook Ventus Race impressed with a consistently high grip level, a high degree of stability, and reliable performance in direct battles at the demanding circuit, which is steeped in tradition. Race one was won by Belgian Ean Eyckmans after the initial race winner, Brazil’s Heitor Dall’Agnol, was handed a time penalty. In the sprint race, Australian Patrick Heuzenroeder kept a clear head after multiple restarts to claim his first victory in Eurocup-3. The final race was dominated from pole position by American James Egozi. Taking full advantage of the consistent grip level of the Hankook Ventus Race, the championship leader wasted little time in pulling clear of the field, before going on to claim his fourth win of the season. In doing so, Egozi also extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGz5J3ZVmKc
Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook in Palanga: Reliable performance on a wet track
The Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook attracted teams and motorsport fans to Palanga (Lithuania) for the 27th time from 15th to 18th July. The iconic endurance race really put the competitors through their paces this year, as they also had to cope with unsettled weather conditions: after sunny practice days, heavy rain changed the conditions dramatically on race day. The Hankook race tyre impressed with its consistently high grip levels, a high degree of stability, and reliable performance for the full race distance on the wet track. In total, the 20 teams covered more than 17,000 kilometres and completed 286 pit stops over the course of the race. Despite the demanding conditions, 19 of the 20 cars that started the race also made it to the finish. First place went to the RIMO Adero & LKU.LT team with a Porsche GT3 Cup. Mantas Janavičius, Marius Bartkus and Benjamin Barker completed the 373 laps of racing in 8:41:57.8 hours to claim their first overall victory in Palanga. RINVEST by Juta Racing was second in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. Porsche Lietuva Racing completed the overall podium.
Full replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEIEwx91kss
Exciting rally action in Italy and Poland, courtesy of FIA Junior ERC
FIA Junior ERC continued its asphalt season with two demanding events on Hankook tyres in July. First up was the Rally di Roma Capitale from 3rd to 5th July, featuring special stages around the Colosseum, before the talented youngsters mastered their next challenge on the tricky asphalt stages in Silesia at the 82nd Rally Poland from 24th to 26th July. Italian Davide Pesavento celebrated his maiden victory in FIA Junior ERC at his home race. Germans Colin Dünker and Timo Schulz dominated proceedings at first. Dünker led the rally after the opening special stages, before Schulz took the lead on stage three. However, Pesavento launched an impressive fightback around the halfway point of the rally, battling his way into the lead from 14th place. The local favourite then used the consistently high grip level and high degree of stability of the Hankook rally tyre to hang onto his lead and take victory, ahead of Schulz and Norwegian Karl Peder Nordstrand. The talented youngsters in FIA Junior ERC also put their faith in Hankook’s premium rally tyre at the Rally Poland. Belgian Tom Heindrichs produced a controlled drive to claim his first victory in FIA Junior ERC, finishing ahead of Aatu Hakalehto. Davide Pesavento completed the podium and, in doing so, retained the overall lead in the championship. Colin Dünker narrowly missed out on the podium in fourth place, while Timo Schulz ended the rally in tenth.
Highlights of Italy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOCAQQIAu3c
Highlights of Poland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMiAzeY54-M
Simonov bags a brace at TCR Italy event in Mugello
Round four of this season’s TCR Italy, from 24th to 26th July at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, featured totally different track conditions, with high track temperatures on the Saturday and a wet start to the Sunday race. The Hankook race tyre offered a high degree of control, both in the dry and on a wet track. Russian Mikhail Simonov dominated the race weekend with a perfect debut in TCR Italy. The SP Competition driver won both races, leaving Marco Pellegrini to settle for the runner-up spot on both occasions. The 23-year-old coped best with the changing conditions, thanks in part to Hankook’s high-performance tyres, and enjoyed a successful first outing in the Italian touring car championship with a brace of wins. In the DSG class, Francesco Miotto remained the man to beat. He won both races and extended his lead in the overall standings. TCR Italy returns to action from 18th to 20th September at Misano World Circuit.
Full replay of race 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akx1lh_PJsc
Full replay of race 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=803U9sin1mk
Hankook 25 Hours Fun Cup delights with thrilling endurance classic in Spa
The 28th edition of the Hankook 25 Hours Fun Cup took place on the first weekend in July at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. With 107 teams and professional drivers including Frédéric Vervisch, David Brabham, Ugo de Wilde, Marco Sørensen and Eduardo Barrichello, it again served up a feast of top-class endurance racing. After the start on Saturday afternoon and an early neutralisation, team #545 Orhes-Racelink-Clossur soon established itself among the leading group with the all-French line-up of Théo Nouet, Olivier Pernaut, Mehdi Bouarfa and Evan Spenle. The quartet maintained its position throughout the entire race, benefitting from the consistently high grip level and high degree of durability of the Hankook tyre, which allowed reliable and controlled handling for the full 25 hours of racing. Even a heavy shower with roughly one and a half hours remaining could not knock the leaders out of their stride, supported as they were by the Hankook tyre, which continued to deliver a consistent performance, even in changing track conditions. After 415 laps of racing, #545 Orhes-Racelink-Clossur took the chequered flag one lap ahead of #506 No Limit Racing to secure victory at the endurance classic in the Ardennes.
Full replay, part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9PAifzTEZo
Full replay, part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAT9adkGtqA
Full replay, part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkTs6OINNP4
Luther and Schmickler celebrate their second win of the season with Hankook on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife
Exclusive tyre partner Hankook again accompanied round five of this season’s Circuit Challenge Nürburgring (RCN) on the Nordschleife on 25th July. Despite the forecast of unsettled weather, the “Westfalen Trophy” remained dry, while temperatures rose from 15 to 23 degrees over the course of the day. The official tyre service saw Hankook supply the teams on site with racing tyres and also support them throughout the entire event. Michael Luther and Markus Schmickler claimed the second overall victory of the year in their second start with the BMW M4 GT4. The slick variant of the Hankook Ventus Race was predominantly the tyre of choice in dry conditions on the Nordschleife, while the Ventus Race Rain was also available, should there be a shift in the weather. David Vogt finished second in his Opel Astra TCR, winning his class in the process. Sven Markert and Lars Harbeck completed the podium. In the championship, Jens Schneider and Robin Reimer remain at the top of the table following their fourth class victory of the season. Circuit Challenge Nürburgring returns from the summer break with round six on the Nordschleife on 5th September.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Eiz1wJD-z8
