Hankook Farnbacher Racing Team on June 13th achieved a fantastic second place in the GT2 class at the 2010 24 Heurs du Mans, one of the world’s finest and most prestigious 24 hour endurance races. After the team finished runner-up at the just as famous German 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in the Green Hell, Dominik Farnbacher from Germany, Allan Simonsen of Denmark and Lehman Keen from the United States had been able to repeat this great success at the endurance classic held at the Le Mans Sarthe Circuit in France last weekend. While the Ferrari F430 GTC reeled off its laps like clockwork, the Hankook tyres produced a flawless and high performance over the entire race distance.
“We are pleased to promote Hankook Tire’s R&D prowess and advanced technologies by receiving such great performance results from top-class motorsports events in just two years after our first entry into the game,” said Jin-Wook Choi, Hankook Tires Executive Vice President and COO for Europe. “I am especially delighted about the safety and durability of our tyres, as we had been the only tyre supplier able to compete without any tyre failure in both famous European 24 hours races. We will continue to invest in motorsports and pull in efforts for technology innovation to develop tyres that meet the demand of motorsports fans and as well as our customers worldwide,” Choi added.
The Hankook Farnbacher Ferrari F430 GTC was equipped with Hankook Ventus F200 slicks. The team chose from various tread compounds designed for each axle positions and specially aligned to the track conditions on the circuit. To maximize the car’s balance with the tyre performance, the front tyres were of a softer compound to the rear tyres. Hankook Tire provided the team with about 400 competition tyres at the track.
“Our 24-hours podium finishes at Nurburgring and here in Le Mans are so far the biggest achievements in Hankook Tire’s European motorsports history and document both the quality as well as the performance of our race tyres,” explained Manfred Sandbichler, the company’s motorsports manager for Europe. “It is the result of a consistent development and our researchers and technicians did a perfect job together with the whole Team Farnbacher in such a short time.”
For recent years, Hankook Tire has been expanding its investment in motorsports and has actively taken a part in renowned motorsports events. Recently, Hankook-KTR Team accomplished the pole-to-one with the Porsche GT3 RSR at Japan’s Super GT and competed successfully in the Germany’s VLN endurance series since 2004. Last March, the Hankook Tire sponsored racing team, Sierra Sierra, beat the new track record at the first Redline Time Attack in the USA. The Hankook Farnbacher Team took second place in the overall rankings in the Nurburgring 24-hour race, in the famous “Green Hell,” in mid-May.
Quotes after the race:
Horst Farnbacher (Team Manager): "I really don't know what to say. I am speechless. We had absolutely no problems over the course of the entire race. We didn't suffer any wear or tear, but simply kept on driving and stopping for fuel. Apart from one or two spins, everything was ideal. A huge compliment must go to the drivers, the whole team as well as to our tyre partner Hankook for their tremendous performance."
Allan Simonsen (Driver): "Second place in Le Mans is another magnificent performance from Farnbacher and Hankook. The team provided us drivers with a very, very good and reliable car. When you think that we also finished runner-up at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, it is quite simply a fantastic performance. We didn't have the slightest problem during the race. A few of the big teams did not finish, but we approached the race as you must approach a 24-hour race: we focussed fully on getting through to the finish."
Dominik Farnbacher (Driver): "It is unbelievable – another second place. From our point of view, the race developed just as we had planned. The car was consistently quick and we drivers were able to focus fully on the race. Sure, we could possibly have put a bit more pressure on the leading Porsche towards the end, but maybe they would also have gone faster again if we had. Instead of this we made the decision an hour before the end of the race to make sure we got the car safely to the finish."
Leh Keen (Driver): "The race was just like the one at the Nürburgring. We simply drove our own race, avoided making any mistakes, and finished on the podium again. Our tyres were fantastic. We could complete two stints with one set. While the opposition had tyre problems or were involved in crashes, we had absolutely no difficulties. Le Mans is the most important race of the year, so I am delighted for the entire team."
