Hankook Tire returns to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Hankook returns to the 2015 running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the second oldest race in America, sponsoring three drivers on its roster: Rhys Millen, Danny George and Canaan O’Connell. 

Millen will pilot a Drive eO PPO3 all-electric, all-wheel drive racecar in the Electric class; George will campaign a modified Mazda Miata in the Rear-Wheel-Drive Time Attack class; and O’Connell will drive a modified Mitsubishi Evolution in the All-Wheel-Drive Time Attack class.  All of the Hankook drivers’ vehicles will be equipped with Hankook’s Ventus race tires which are designed to provide them with the traction and control they’ll need to push their vehicles to the performance limit.
 
“2015 looks to be a very interesting year for Hankook Tire and our drivers at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb,” said Paul Jho, Hankook Tire America Corp. Motorsports Manager. “Rhys, Danny and Canaan are going to give it all they’ve got. With the race surface fully paved from the start line to the finish line at the top of the mountain, our Ventus race tires are ready to provide them with the performance edge they’ll need to come out on top.”
 
Millen’s all-electric, all-wheel-drive Drive eO PP03 racecar uses a 50-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack along with six electric motors to churn out over 1367 horsepower and 1500 pound feet of torque. Millen hopes to transfer all that power to the ground via his Hankook Ventus race tires for a run of less than nine minutes to grab the electric vehicle class and overall race win.
 
“The exciting part is that our team is experienced, the car is amazing, and I’m hopeful we will make history,” said Millen. “In the past I have relied on Hankook tires to provide class wins and overall wins, and this year our goal is to make history together becoming the first electric car to ever win overall at Pikes Peak and beat all combustion engine vehicles in doing so.”
 
Activities for the 2015 running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb begin with technical inspections on Monday, June 22nd , followed by four days of practice and qualifying, culminating with a full day of racing on Sunday, June 28th.