Hankook Tire Participates in the
2009 Le Mans 24 Hours with Farnbacher Racing Team

• Hankook Tire’s exceptional tyre technology expected to take the Farnbacher Racing Team to a class win in the 2009 Le Mans 24 hours
• The world’s seventh-largest and fastest-growing tyre company expected to prove its dedication to motor sports yet again

Le Mans, France, June 12 2009 – Ranked seventh among all tyre manufacturers in the world, Hankook Tire has partnered with the Farnbacher Racing Team to take part in the 77th Le Mans 24-hours at the birthplace of the Le Mans series, Sarthe, France on Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14. With a name globally renowned for its technology and excellence within motor sports, Hankook Tire will once again have the opportunity to prove itself as a high-performance tire company. The Farnbacher Racing Team is a leading global racing team that started with the brothers Horst and Herman Farnbacher. Following many victories and championships over the years, they have taken on their most recent victory at the Le Mans Series GT2 Class in Barcelona, Spain where they took on third place amongst 13 competitors, partnered with Hankook.

The Le Mans 24-hour race is known as the world’s oldest and best sports car race in endurance racing. The race has been held annually since 1923, and is commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance. Organized by the Automobile Club de l’Quest (ACO), it is also recognized for its unique circuit which contains closed public roads that are meant to not only test the car and driver’s reflexes, but also to last a period of over 24 hours.

Hankook Tire global CEO, Seung Hwa Suh states, “Our entry into Le Mans 24-hour is not only to further expose the Hankook brand to motorsports enthusiasts and the general public, but to leverage our involvement in the race as an ideal testing ground for future street tyre technologies. We also consider motor sports as an opportunity to help develop next generation tyres that will satisfy the consumers’ demands.” “Together with the Farnbacher Team, we believe that this race will be a significant time of discovery for us. We hope to enhance our tyre grip and durability in order to further prove our superior technological excellence”, he added.

Hankook Tire has steadily increased its involvement in European racing over recent years. In past seasons, Hankook Tire’s high-performance tyres stood at the starting line of motor sports competitions in Germany, UK, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain. Throughout the years, Hankook Tire has gained experience in various motor sports including the Super GT races in Japan, the CJ Super Race in Korea, the China Circuit Championship (CCC), the China Rally Championship (CRC), and the American Le Mans Series. With the series ranking as the top among Hankook Tire’s motor sports activities, it falls into perfect alignment with Hankook Tire’s motto, driving emotion, and supports talented teams such as Farnbacher throughout Europe. Hankook Tire also plans to maintain its long-term commitment to motor sports, which is the perfect arena to demonstrate the technical competence and high performance of Hankook Tire’s products.

Continuous effort in tyre technology development

The 2009 Hankook Team Farnbacher Ferrari F430 GTC will be equipped with Hankook racing tyres Ventus F 200 slicks, Ventus Z 207 rain tyres as well as tailor made intermediates all in the sizes 280/650 R 18 at the front axle and 280/710 R 18 in the rear, fitted on rims sized 11 x 18 inch. According to track conditions the team can select from different tread compounds offered for each axle and condition. To find a good compromise between the car’s balance as well as the tyre’s durability, for the basic tyre setup it is intended to use a one step softer compound at the front axle compared to the rear.

Hankook Ventus F 200 Slick
- Compounds available for front axle: medium-soft, medium, medium-hard
- Compounds available for rear axle: medium, medium-hard, hard

Hankook Ventus Intermed (based on F 200 constructions)
- Compounds available for both axles: soft, medium

Hankook Ventus Z 207 rain tyre
- Compounds available for both axles: soft, medium

Hankook Tire Technology in Motorsports

• Le Mans Series and 24 Heures du Mans, new from 2009
  Sponsored Team: Hankook Team Farnbacher, Ferrari F430 GTC
• Japan Super GT
  Sponsored Team: Hankook Porsche Team – GT300
• German Endurance Championship Nuerburgring (VLN) and 24 Hour Race
  Sponsored Team: Hankook-H&R Spezialfedern-Team Alzen Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
• American Le Mans Series (ALMS)
  Sponsored Team: Primetime Race Group Team
• China Circuit Championship (CCC)
  Sponsored Team: Hankook Tire Lufang Racing Team (2000cc)
• International Rallye Championship (IRC)
  Sponsored Team: Opel Works Team
• German Rallye Championship (DRM)
  Sponsored Team: Wallenwein Rallyesport
• Suzuki Rallye Cup 2009 (Official Tyre Supplier)
• China Rally Championship (CRC)
  Sponsored Team: Wanyu Rally Team (2007 Series Champion)
• French Rallye Championship participation
• Spain Rallye Championship
  Sponsored Team: Pedro Burgo Rallye Team
• Suzuki Swift Tarmac Rallye Championship Spain (Official Tyre Supplier)
• Volante RACC Tarmac Championship
• Formula D (Drift)
  Sponsored Team: Hankook JIC Motorsports Team
• IMSA Lites (Official Tyre Supplier)
• Japanese Formula 3 Series (Official Tyre Supplier)
• Korea DDGT Championship (Title Sponsor & Official Tyre Supplier)
• CJ Super Race (Korea - Official Tyre Supplier)
• Hankook R1 (Korea - Title Sponsor & Official Tyre Supplier)
• Volkswagen Racing Cup (UK, Main Sponsor)