New Class One cars shouldn’t be a problem for the tyres, say Hankook

DTM tyre partner Hankook believes the new DTM cars won’t present a challenge to the them at the season opener at Hockenheim this weekend.

The arrival of the Class One regulations, with changes in the cars’ aerodynamics and new two-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged engines, has seen questions raised about the tyres’ capacity to meet the demands of the new DTM cars.

However, Hankook’s motorsport director Manfred Sandbichler says there shouldn’t be any problem, even though the compound and structure of the tyre remains the same as last year, and despite the new cars having more power and lower downforce, which will create higher loads.

Asked whether teams would need to take preventive measures to avoid tyre failure, such as making an extra tyre change during the race, Sandbichler told TouringCarTimes:

“Whether further pit stops will be needed or not is a decision that belongs to the teams, not to us. We don’t expect anything to change with regards to handling 100bhp more.

“Additionally, we are expecting a wet race tomorrow (Saturday), so it won’t have any effect. We will see what happens for Sunday.

“It’s important to realise that the tyre is the same as last year, so the teams already know what to expect from the tyre’s life,” added Sandbichler. “Obviously, in the practice sessions it doesn’t have an effect, as cars go out for two laps, come back to the garage to make some changes and so on.

“But we will see on Sunday, when we have our first proper dry race, how the teams handle the conditions,” he added.

“I would like to add that the teams already know everything about our tyre,” commented Felix Kinzer, director of corporate communications at Hankook Europe, to TouringCarTimes. “The characteristics of the tyre are the same as last year, so they already know what to expect, but not in connection to the new car, just to the previous one.

“So for them, it’s totally new. According to the DTM’s philosophy in recent years we want to see more spectacular races, more cost efficiency. This is why we decided to keep the same tyre, which is just one compound for the whole season. The DTM tyre is to withstand all track conditions, all weather conditions, every temperature expected and in every car,” said Kinzer.

“And don’t worry, they (the teams) will learn really fast,” concluded Sandbichler.