Hankook EV tyres successfully complete ADAC 24h e-competition

Hankook Tire has successfully completed the ADAC 24h e-competition which was held as part of the e4 Testival at the Hockenheimring in Germany.

The Hankook iON team finished on the podium in its class. The BMW i4 eDrive40, which took the overall victory, relied on Hankook Tire’s special electric vehicle tyres.

The three-day driving show offered not only an opportunity to test drive an electric vehicle at the Hockenheimring, but also lectures and exhibitions from various companies from e-bike brands to EV charging station manufacturers.

At the ADAC 24h e-competition, sponsored by Hankook Tire, teams compete against each other on electric cars to complete as many laps as possible on the 4.57km Grand Prix circuit of the Hockenheimring in 24 hours.

The race is not primarily about speed, it’s more about charging strategy and efficient use of energy.

The 24-hour race went on from 28-30 October. Drivers, divided into four classes based on the vehicle’s charging capacity, raced 11 hours from Friday to Saturday, and another 13 hours from Saturday to Sunday.

The night race at the Hockenheimring would not have been possible if the race were for conventional vehicles since the circuit is situated nearby residential areas where noise regulations are particularly strict.

The Hankook iON team led by driver Kay Alexander Plonka started on Friday 21:00 local time aboard the Tesla Model Y Performance. The team came in third place in class D, and eighth overall on Sunday morning at 10:00.

The electric SUV was equipped with Hankook iON evo tyres that are specially designed for electric vehicles with a particularly low rolling resistance.

The Hankook iON team’s charging strategy shined when the last driver Plonka crossed the finish line with the charge level at exactly zero per cent.

“I’m particularly impressed by high grip level of the iON evo,” he said. “It allowed us to maintain high performance even through tight corners of the Hockenheimring while minimising braking and acceleration that consume lots of energy.”

“In addition, tyres still looked really good after driving over 1,000 kilometres on asphalt,” Plonka added.

Hankook EV race tyre’s balanced performance also contributed to the overall victory of the Elektroautomobil team with the BMW i4 eDrive40.