Pirelli stepped aside, and for at least the next three years, the WRC will run on tyres manufactured by Hankook.
Hankook won the FIA’s tender last year and subsequently developed gravel, snow, winter, and asphalt tyres tailored to meet WRC’s demands. While the tread patterns appear quite similar to what drivers are accustomed to, it became clear during the Monte-Carlo season opener that some drivers would need time to adjust to the new rubber.
The loudest critic was Toyota’s Finnish driver, Kalle Rovanperä – if “critic” is even the right word. In any case, Rovanperä pointed out that the new slicks don’t yet fully suit his driving style. He brought up the issue multiple times over the Monte-Carlo weekend.
Teams had the opportunity to test the new tyres before the start of the rally season. Toyota, Hyundai, and M-Sport collectively covered around 3,800 kilometres during these test sessions.
The most significant concern has been the studded tyre designed for winter conditions. After Monte-Carlo, Rovanperä headed straight to Arctic Lapland Rally to gain more experience with the new winter tyre. This served as an important learning trip ahead of next week’s Rally Sweden.
Rovanperä faced challenges adapting to Hankook’s studded tyres during last weekend’s Arctic Lapland Rally. According to him, the Hankook tyre is more sensitive, especially on loose snow, where it loses grip more easily.
“The new tyre is slow. If there’s loose snow on the road, even Rally2 cars can beat us quite badly,” Rovanperä remarked in Rovaniemi.
“It’s been really quite positive”
One can only imagine the nail-biting tension at Hankook during Rally Monte-Carlo, the first real test for the new tyres.
However, Hankook performed well in its debut. Despite a few punctures during the rally, it was clear that the tyres could withstand the challenges posed by WRC conditions.
Drivers mostly shared positive feedback.
“For the first rollout, let’s say it’s been really quite positive,” said Toyota’s Elfyn Evans.
“At least there are no big complaints. Maybe the performance level is a bit different from what we were used to, but I would say the reliability is much better than what we were used to. So, you know, it’s natural to have differences between brands, and there’s naturally going to be a sort of learning phase,” Evans added.
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala was also optimistic about the new tyres.
“That’s (durability) the most important thing because we don’t want to see the result decided by who is having luck with the tyres,” Latvala told Motorsport.com.
“The durability of the tyres have been really strong and thanks to Hankook for that. There are some areas where the grip levels could be improved, but as a starting point I think they have done a good job,” Latvala praised.
