Hankook Tire to Exclusively Supply Racing Tires for 2025 FIA World Rally Championship

- Hankook Tire to supply rallying tires for all 3 WRC classes starting in 2025
- Hankook’s 'Ventus,' 'Dynapro,' 'Winter i*cept' and ‘Winter i*Pike’ will deliver optimal support for maximum performance
- The company aims to leverage major world championships organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), such as WRC and Formula E, as proving grounds for Hankook’s top-tier technology

Seoul, Korea, January 16, 2025 — Global leading tire company Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire) will exclusively supply rallying tires for all three classes, WRC1, WRC2, and WRC3, for three years, beginning with the 2025 season of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).

The WRC, one of the world's top three motorsports competitions, alongside Formula 1, is renowned for its extreme rallies across diverse terrains worldwide. In the 2025 season, three car brands—Hyundai, Toyota, and Ford—will compete across four continents, Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia, for the championship title.

Unlike circuit racing, which takes place on paved roads, WRC events require participants to navigate designated starting and ending points through challenging terrains, such as unpaved, snowy, and muddy roads, reach at maximum speeds of 200 km/h and 8,500 rpm. Tire durability and consistent performance are considered the most important strategic elements of these competitions.

All participating cars will be equipped with the Ventus Z215, which provides the best cornering and handling performance in both dry and wet conditions; the Ventus Z210, designed for excellent grip in adverse weather, including wet roads; and the Dynapro R213, an all-weather rally tire with excellent shock absorption, durability, and grip on unpaved roads.

In addition, the Winter i*cept SR20, which provides the best grip on snowy roads in winter, and the Winter i*Pike SR10W, equipped with a special stud pin optimized for slippery ice, will also be installed to support extreme galloping perfectly.

Through its partnership with the WRC, Hankook Tire becomes one of the few brands to sponsor two of the five major FIA world championships, including the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the premier electric vehicle racing series. The agreement to exclusively supply WRC tires was signed at Hankook’s Technoplex headquarters in South Korea, in November 2024.

This milestone reflects Hankook Tire’s top-tier racing tire technology, honed through sponsorships of more than 70 global motorsports competitions. Hankook was first selected as an official WRC tire supplier in 2014. The company’s recognition for technological innovation in rally events like the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) and FIA Junior ERC culminated in this exclusive WRC partnership.

Hankook Tire will start supplying the WRC, Junior WRC and Sweden Rally Championship in 2025, ensuring consistent tire performance even under unpredictable race conditions. This partnership will further strengthen Hankook Tire’s reputation as a premium tire brand while showcasing its cutting-edge technology to motorsports fans worldwide.

"We have already established a successful partnership with Hankook Tire through the ERC, and we are very excited to extend it to the WRC," said Jona Siebel, Managing Director of WRC Promoter GmbH. "Hankook Tire has been working hard to develop tires to meet the special needs of the WRC, and we are very much looking forward to its debut performance at the Monte Carlo Rally in January."

The 2025 WRC competition will feature 14 rounds across Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia, starting with the 'Rallye Monte-Carlo' in Monaco from January 23 to 26 (local time).