Endurance racing event series the 24H Series has a new title sponsor. Hankook Tire replaces Dunlop in this role, serving as the exclusive partner for what is now called the 24H Series powered by Hankook. The tiremaker will also lend its name to various events held during the season, such as ‘Hankook 12H Zandvoort’, ‘Hankook 12H Hungary’, ‘Hankook 24H Dubai’ and ‘Hankook 12H Italy-Mugello’. The 24H Series includes endurance race events for GTs, touring cars and 24H Specials, and depending on weather and track conditions, Hankook will supply endurance tires from the Ventus Race slick or rain range.“With Hankook, we are delighted to have found a great new high-performance partner,” said Gerrie Willems from Dutch agency Creventic, who promotes and organizes the series in collaboration with the Dutch National Racing Team. “To supply tires for the very different cars in our races, from demanding GT3 sports car to compact vehicles in the touring car categories, is a logistical challenge, but Hankook is well prepared for this. Over the past years, Hankook has become well established in the top international motor racing scene and has earned itself an excellent reputation and gained a wealth of experience. We are looking forward to a great cooperation and a successful partnership with Hankook over the coming years.”
Manfred Sandbichler, director of Motorsports at Hankook Tire Europe, believes the tiremaker’s on-track experience will hold it in good stead in its new engagement. “As the exclusive tire partner of the 24H Series powered by Hankook, we will contribute our many years of experience in endurance racing to this exciting project. With our extensive race tire range, which has proven itself successfully many times in long distance classics like at the Nürburgring or Le Mans, we are able to excellently satisfy the requirements of the very broad starter field and provide the best tires for all types of race tracks, weather conditions and in all sizes. And, of course, our experienced race engineers will be on hand at the track to provide teams with technical support for all tire and set-up queries.”
Creventic indicates that Dunlop’s withdrawal as title sponsor is linked to the recent decision to end motorsport tire production in Birmingham. “We are very grateful for the support we got from Dunlop over the years,” commented Willems. “They were instrumental in raising the profile of the various races and the 24H Series and we really enjoyed a partnership that has become a friendship.” (Tyres & Accessories)
