The Hankook Mexico E-Prix, the opening round of this season’s ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, was a magnificent spectacle. More than 40,000 fans in the Mexican metropolis made for sold-out grandstands and celebrated a commanding victory for Briton Jake Dennis, who won by 7.816 seconds in a Porsche 99X Electric run by the Avalanche Andretti Formula E team. The winner’s trophy was presented by Jeongho Park, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer of Hankook Tyre. Germany’s Pascal Wehrlein from the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team crossed the finish line in second place. Third place went to Lucas di Grassi from Brazil, who lines up for Mahindra Racing.
Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook Director Motorsport, says, “That was a very successful premiere for the new Hankook iON Race at the Mexico City E-Prix. More than 40,000 fans witnessed an incredibly exciting season-opener in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Our tyres supported all the drivers with the expected level of performance, both in a mere six degrees Celsius during the morning’s free practice session and in 22 degrees during the race. The spectacular overtaking attempts and maneuvers at the end of the race show how high the potential grip of the new iON Race is, despite the diverse track conditions.”
Winner Jake Denni, says, “The tyre worked very well, better than I expected. We must obviously all get used to the new tyre. It was tough, particularly in the cooler temperatures this morning. However, it was very consistent in the race.”
Runner-up Pascal Wehrlein, says, “The tyre worked superbly on the track. It was good when it was warm, but we had to find our way in cooler temperatures, as we did with regard to configurations, set-up and the tyres. All in all, it was a great start to Gen3.”
Lucas di Grassi in third place, says, “Last year, we had issues with grip at the end of the race here in Mexico. In contrast, the new Hankook tyre was very consistent and worked superbly."
In keeping with tradition, the official group photo, with all the Season 9 drivers, was taken in the run-up to the opening race of this season’s ABB FIA Formula E World Championship – the Hankook Mexico City E-Prix. Among those present was new official technical partner and tyre supplier, Hankook. Many team members joined the Formula E management on the front row, making the photo a perfect memento of the premium tyre maker’s first race.
In perfect time for the start of Season 9 and Hankook’s title sponsorship in Mexico City, the new tyre supplier presented the iON Race for the Gen3 cars with colorful tread grooves in Hankook Orange and iON Blue. This design proved to be very popular in Formula E. “We are pleased with the positive feedback from the fans and, above all, the teams and drivers. The coloured accents naturally have no influence on the tyres’ performance. We will not see this design in every race, but definitely a few more times at selected events throughout the course of the season,” said Hankook Motorsport Director Manfred Sandbichler.
As part of its role as presenting partner of the FIA initiative Girls on Track, Hankook – together with its partners ABB, Williams Advanced Engineering and the FIA – presented its commitment to social sustainability and gender equality to 120 young girls and women at the opening race weekend in Mexico City, and also demonstrated just how fascinating motorsport can be. Jeongho Park, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer of Hankook visited the event area to gain a personal impression of the commitment. The goal of the program is to promote gender equality in an innovative, committed and positive manner in motorsport. Over the course of the full season, roughly 400 girls will participate in the program, live on site. The next Girls on Track event will take place at the next round of the season, in Saudi Arabia (January 26 to 28).
