The first race in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in Cape Town was a great success. As well as a thrilling race in front of packed grandstands, the new Formula E tyre – the Hankook iON Race – also enjoyed a more than successful debut at the Cape of Good Hope. The street circuit around the stadium built for the 2010 football World Cup posed several significant challenges for the drivers and the Hankook iON Race. Thomas Baltes, Hankook Formula E race engineer said: “The circuit is one of the fastest in Season 9. The bumps and five different surfaces, in particular, really put the drivers and our tyres through their paces. The difference in temperature between the red and the black asphalt was up to 6°C. That affected the grip level. However, the high level of consistency demonstrated by the iON Race gave the drivers the confidence they needed to pull off overtaking manoeuvres and the belief that they had the necessary grip to brake hard at the end of the high-speed straights.”
António Félix da Costa achieved this better than anyone else. The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver took the chequered flag after 32 laps of racing to win the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix.
“Congratulations to António Félix da Costa. He fully deserves his success in South Africa after an excellent performance. He will go down in the history books as the first winner of this E-Prix. Cape Town was a fantastic experience for all of us. We were particularly touched by the hospitality and friendliness of the people. The location is incredibly beautiful. I hope we will return next year and can once again put on a show of top-class motorsport for the great fans,” said Hankook Motorsport Director Manfred Sandbichler.
The new Hankook iON Race
Hankook has been the new and official technical partner and tyre supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship since 2023. The newly-developed Hankook iON Race tyre has been developed in close co-operation with the racing series and takes into account the sustainability approach of Formula E and the future of E-mobility, without compromising motorsport performance. Roughly 30% of the new tyre, which is tailor-made for the third generation of Formula E racers, is made from sustainable materials. The teams receive a tyre variant that can be used in both dry and wet conditions, to save resources. Furthermore, the long durability of the tyre is also a pioneering step. After the respective race weekends, all the sets of Hankook tyres are completely recycled.
End users in South Africa can also benefit from the Korean tyre maker’s know-how in the field of electromobility, and can rely on the advantages of Hankook tyres specifically for electric vehicles.
You can find more information on Hankook and the iON Race here.
Anyone wishing to follow Hankook’s involvement in motorsport around the world can do so on the premium tyre maker’s Instagram channel.