Hankook snags '25-'27 WRC race tire supply contract

BAKU, Azerbaijan—The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) has appointed Hankook Tire & Technology Co. Ltd. as the official tire supplier of the World Rally Championship for three years, starting with the 2025 season.

Hankook will succeed Pirelli & C. S.p.A.—the WRC's designated supplier since 2021—in that role. Pirelli notified the FIA, the sanctioning body for the WRC, in September that it intended to end its participation in the sport at the end of the 2024 championship.

The designation of Hankook as the WRC's designated tire supplier was confirmed Nov. 30 by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council at a Nov. 30 meeting in Baku. The contract covers all 4-wheel-drive categories within the WRC.

The WMSC's decision follows a detailed tendering process launched by the FIA in July based on criteria such as the supplier's capabilities, sustainability, technical quality, cost per tire and marketing, the FIA said.

The sanctioning body's selection of Hankook coincides with the adoption of a new format for the attribution of championship points for manufacturers, drivers and co-drivers designed to enhance excitement and competitiveness, especially on Sundays during WRC event weekends.

Hankook is a relative newcomer to championship-caliber rallying, with only one season of experience as a supplier to teams in the European Rally Championship, where it competed with Michelin, MRF Ltd. and Pirelli Tyre in the open-competition championship.

Established in 1973, the WRC pits drivers in production-based cars racing on a variety of surfaces, from public roads to snow-packed forest tracks to rock-strewn mountain passes. Each season consists of 13 to 15 rallies in a dozen or more countries around the world.

In its tender brief for the WRC tire contract, the FIA said those submitting bids had to demonstrate that their proposed tires are safe and reliable and can offer equal sporting capabilities for all competitors in each relevant technical category in the variety of conditions that would be encountered on a WRC competition—on gravel or tarmac surfaces and in snowy/icy conditions.

Hankook now is the designated tire supplier for two of the FIA's signature global racing series.

In 2020 it was selected as the tire supplier for the Formula E championship for electric-powered single-seat open-wheel racers, starting with the 2022 season.