During the kick-off of Formula Drift’s 2009 season in Long Beach, Calif. this weekend, Hankook will unveil the newest edition to its racing team — defending 2008 drifting champ Tanner Foust.
In its third season of participation in the Formula Drift series, Hankook is sponsoring two official race teams, Team Papadakis and Team Dyanmic Autosports.
Foust, who also won the 2007 championship, is on the Papadakis squad. He’ll be going for a three-peat this year in a new Scion tC drift car equipped with Hankook’s new Ventus R-S3 tires.
“Tanner brings a proven record of success to the Hankook team,” says company communications director Bill Bainbridge. “We’re confident that he will represent the brand well and will contribute to Hankook’s growing presence and success in North American motorsports.”
Dynamic Autosports includes a combination of three different vehicles and drivers. Robbie Nishida, who made his way into the prestigious “Great 8” round three times last season, returns as Dynamic’s Nissan 350Z driver. Eric O’Sullivan, a native of Ireland and new to the team this year, is the 2007 Pro Drift points champion and is recognized as a European drifting pioneer along with being one of the more charismatic front runners in Formula Drift, according to Bainbridge.
Also added to the mix is new team member Ryuji Miki, a former D1 Grand Prix champion.
Hankook’s drifting drivers will each be running on the new Ventus R-S3, a successor to the Ventus R-S2 and complimentary to the Ventus Z214 racing rubber.
Bainbridge says the company has applied its latest motorsports technology to improve dry grip performance by 30 percent while enhancing the tire’s handling capabilities and creating a larger contact patch. The R-S3 features Hankook’s DOT R compound technology, which gained success during the 2007 and 2008 drifting seasons.
“As drifting, time attack and autocross competitions continue to gain popularity and influence the marketplace, Hankook looks to deliver high performance products both on the street and on the track,” Bainbridge reports. “The new Ventus R-S3 will prove to be a great investment for our enthusiast consumers, delivering a high quality UHP street tire that seamlessly meets the demands of on-track motorsports performance.”
The company continues to expand its racing activities on a global level by entering into the 2009 Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans in Europe. It will also be sponsoring the International Rally Challenge (IRC) in Europe, along with the Super GT, Japan Formula 3, the China Circuit Championship (CCC), the China Rally Championship (CRC), the CJ Super Race and the Hankook DDGT and Hankook R1 in Asia.
For more information, visit www.hankooktireusa.com.
