Hankook to support Toni Gardemeister in IRC campaign
Hankook is aiming for championship success in the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge after signing up to support Toni Gardemeister.
The Finnish rally ace will contest selected rounds in the Skoda S2000 with support from Hankook – and both parties are confident that 2011 will prove a classic year for rallying.
Gardemeister will be ready to use the Skoda/Hankook to take on selected events from next month with an appearance on the Rally Canarias – with the car prepared and run by Toni’s own motorsport operation.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Hankook again,’’ said Toni who drove with Hankook in its early IRC testing phase in 2009. “The Skoda is a proven car in the IRC and the Hankook tyres have performed brilliantly on these events in the last couple of years so I’m delighted with the package which we have put together.’’
He said the IRC is a tremendous championship providing some of the best action in rallying with top class drivers and extremely close competition with the S2000 cars.
Hankook UK motorsport manager Mike Patterson said he was thrilled that a driver of Toni’s pedigree had chosen Hankook tyres for this new venture.
“The tyres have been used extensively on IRC rounds in the last few years and have proven themselves time and time again on gravel and asphalt and in both wet and dry conditions which gives us tremendous confidence for this new project,’’ said Mike.
“The Hankook tyres together with the competitive Skoda and the skills of Toni and his co-driver Tapio Suominen provide a mouth watering combination.’’
The campaign will feature eight rallies and begin in April with Canarias – one of Toni’s favourite events and his first in the Skoda S2000.
“Having driven for Skoda in the past I know the car will be good and I look forward to testing the package before we really get started in Canarias,’’ said Toni.
The eight rallies in the current programme are: Rally Canarias 14th-16th April, Tour de Corse-Italy 13th-15th May, Prime Yalter Rally-Ukraine 02nd-04th June, Geko Ypres Rally-Belgium 23rd-25th June, Barum Rally-Czech Republic 26th-28th August, Mceske Rally-Hungry 09th-11th September, Rally San Remo-Italy 22nd-24th September & Rally Scotland 14th-16th October.
