In its third season of participation in the Formula Drift series competition, Hankook is sponsoring two official race teams, team Papadakis and team Dynamic Autosports. Papadakis team members include the 2007 and 2008 Formula Drift champion Tanner Foust, who will be making a run at his third straight Formula Drift title this year, with a new Scion tC drift car and new Hankook Ventus tires.
“Tanner Brings a proven record of success to the Hankook team,” said Bill Bainbridge, director of brand communications, Hankook Tire America Corp. “We’re confident that he will represent the brand well and will contribute to Hankook’s growing presence and success in North American motorsports.”
Hankook is also sponsoring team Dynamic Autosports, who includes a unique 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 and one of the most charismatic front runners in Formula Drift. Also added to the mix is new team member Ryuji Miki, a former D1 Grand Prix champion, one of Formula Drifts largest competitors.
Hankook’s Formula Drift drivers will be racing with the new Ventus R-S3, a successor to the track-proven Ventus R-S2 and compliment to the Ventus Z214 racing tires. The brand has applied its latest motorsports technology to improve dry-grip performance by 30 percent, further enhancing the tire’s handling capabilities. The profile has been developed to maximize the footprint contact patch. In addition, based on the great success of Hankook’s DOT R Compound tires in 2007-2008 competitions, the compound technology responsible for winning on the track has been applied in the new Ventus R-S3.
“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 said. “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.”
