Hankook is celebrating its most successful Formula Drift season so far following a podium finish by driver Tanner Foust at the series’ season finale. The win ties Hankook with Falken and Maxxis for the most podium finishes by a tire maker for 2009, with each recording six podium appearances in seven races.
This year marks Hankook’s best performance in Formula Drift since its entry in 2007. In its third year as an associate series sponsor, Hankook claimed one victory, two second place finishes and three third place finishes.
The company closed out the drifting season with four consecutive podium finishes and notched another milestone by putting three different drivers on the podium in a single year.
“Hankook strives to deliver cutting-edge products to our Formula Drift drivers as they do battle in this highly competitive, growing sport,” says Bill Bainbridge, director of brand communications for Hankook America Corp. “This season’s results are a testament to our drivers, teams and the performance of Hankook’s Ventus R-S3.”
All of Hankook’s racers ran with the new R-S3 high performance tire.
According to Bainbridge, the company’s engineers have applied the “latest motorsports technology to improve dry-grip performance by 30 percent, further enhancing the tire’s handling capabilities.”
“This was a great season for the Rockstar/Scion team and Hankook,” says Foust. “In a series with more tire manufacturers than any other motorsport, the Hankook R-S3’s performance never failed to impress me when stacked against the competition. The Ventus R-S3 provides outstanding grip while maintaining great control. With six podium finishes this season alone, it’s obvious this tire’s a winner.”
All four Hankook drifters finished in the top 20 in the overall points standings. In addition to Foust’s notable showing, Robbie Nishida finished 8th, Ryuji Miki was 16th and Rookie of the Year Eric O’Sullivan was 18th.
O’Sullivan is the first Hankook driver to win Rookie of the Year honors. He dominated the category with 332.25 points and a second-place podium finish in his first year.
“We’re very excited about the results from both our drivers, Robbie Nishida and Eric O’Sullivan,” says Eddie Kim, owner of Dynamic Autosports. “With the help of Hankook’s Ventus R-S3, we’ve been able to rack up multiple podium finishes along with Rookie of the Year honors for Eric. The Hankook tire’s winning capability has been on display time and again this season.”
Despite scorching heat and a Los Angeles Angels pennant race happening just blocks away, a sold out crowd was on hand to witness the final race of the year, known as “Judgment Day.” Emotions were running high as multiple drivers were still in the running for the championship. When the smoke cleared, Foust was edged out by Tyler McQuarrie and first-place finisher Ryan Turek.
All of the Hankook drivers finished in the top 32 at Irwindale. Foust finished 6th in the drivers’ championship in his first year of competing on the company’s tires.
For more information, visit www.hankooktireusa.com.
