Hankook will again be equipping the teams and drivers of the DTM, the most popular touring car series, exclusively with its Ventus racing tyres. In the anniversary year, in which the DTM is celebrating 30 years of racing, enhanced vehicles and new regulations promise great excitement. With just one pit stop the softer and faster tyre option can only be used for a maximum of half the racing distance. Especially in the Ventus Race Plus, recognisable by the yellow Hankook lettering, demanding maximum performance from the tyres over a limited time period is a deciding factor for success. After the first tests during the winter months, the DTM team and engineers were extremely satisfied and are looking forward to the new season.
"More than a thousand test kilometres that we have covered during the winter together with our team show that our tyres are in perfect harmony with the new DTM high-powered cars", explains Manfred Sandbichler, Motorsports Director at Hankook Tire Europe. In addition to enhanced vehicles, two unknowns in the racing calendar also ensure extra excitement: Both the Hungaroring in Hungary as well as the track in Guanzhou, China, celebrate premieres in the current DTM. "Our many years of experience will also help us optimally support drivers and teams on these new tracks with the right tyre set up and the best possible tyre performance so that we can provide a fantastic show to the fans", Manfred Sandbichler continues.
The extensive equipment of the DMT’s exclusive tyre partner is brought to the tracks in four 40 ton truck trailers. Over 30 Hankook employees are on site during the racing weekend in order to optimally assist the drivers from the roll-out until the end of the race. In addition to the "Ventus Race" type racing tyres that are perfectly aligned to fit the spectacular high-powered vehicles, in 2014 the additional option version is again being utilised. In the same size - 300/680 R 18 for the front and 320/710R 18 for the rear axle - the "Ventus Race Plus" slick will enable considerably faster lap times for a defined period of time and, as before, provide additional spectacular overtaking manoeuvres on the racetrack.
“With the changed rules in the DTM, our prime slick Ventus Race is more focused on again,” explains Christophe Stucki, DTM principal engineer at Hankook Tire. “To find a balanced set-up, which brings out the optimal performance in the tyres, will be a crucial factor of success for the teams and drivers this year”.
