Hankook named as W Series tyre supplier

The W Series Hankook as its official tyre partner for its inaugural season (2019), commencing at Hockenheim (Germany) in May. The W Series is a free-to-enter single-seater motor racing series for women drivers only, with a top prize of US$500,000 for the winner and a total prize fund of US$1.5 million. As the new partner of the W Series, Hankook will provide the series with its high-end racing tyre, the Ventus Race (F200 slick and Z217 wet), in sizes VA 230/560-13 and HA 280/580-13.

Catherine Bond Muir, W Series CEO said: “Hankook is an exciting and innovative company, which, like the W Series, is always prepared to strike out in a new direction. For this reason, we are happy to have a partner like this on our side. We received a lot of interesting offers, but Hankook had by far the best overall package and will be fully committed to helping us offer women better opportunities in motorsport.”

Dave Ryan, W Series Racing Director commented: “Hankook has an impressive global presence in motorsport and is the tyre partner of many racing series around the world, whether in touring cars, single-seaters, endurance racing or rallying. Furthermore, Hankook has been exclusive partner of the DTM, with which the W Series will share the bill, since 2011. Its high-tech products, know-how and global involvement in motorsport make Hankook the perfect partner for us. It will provide optimal support for the W Series, not only with its race tyres, but also its engineers and mechanics.”

Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook Motorsport Director Europe said: “We are very enthusiastic about this new partnership with W Series and are looking forward to supporting this fascinating new race format to the best of our ability with the Ventus Race [tyre] and our know-how. One major reason for our involvement is the fact that W Series is exclusively for women. This is great, as it allows female drivers to develop in a professional environment within the motorsport scene, which is still male-dominated. However, we are not just thinking about the women in the cockpit, but also want to ensure that female mechanics, engineers and team managers get more opportunities in motorsport too.”

W Series cars will all be identical Tatuus T-318 Formula 3 cars, powered by identical Autotecnica Motori inline four-cylinder 1.8-litre turbocharged engines, using Sadev six-speed sequential gearboxes, fitted with HALO safety devices.