Porsche Claims Pole Position in Dubai on Hankook Tires

DUBAI, UAE, January 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

The Hankook 24H Dubai is ready for action, the grid positions for the opening highlight of the 2015 motorsport season have been decided. On Thursday, a field of 91 cars in eight different classes fired up their engines under glorious sunshine in pursuit of the fastest qualifying lap. The standardized slicks supplied by premium manufacturer and title sponsor Hankook impressed on the sand-strewn surface at the Dubai Autodrome. 

The Swiss Fach Auto Tech 2 team will start the race from the front of the grid. Austrian driver Martin Ragginger (Porsche 997 GT3 R) set a fastest lap of 1:57.562 min. Three tenths of a second back was Dutchman Yelmer Buurman (Mercedes SLS AMG GT3), who took second place on the grid for the German Black Falcon 2 team. Behind them in third was the quartet from Swiss outfit Stadler Motorsport. The slick tires from Hankook maintained high grip levels throughout, ensuring exciting and evenly matched qualifying for the 24-hour event in Dubai.

Martin Ragginger: "The combination of our Porsche with the new Hankook tires works really well and we showed great consistency over the long run. I've got a very good feeling about it."

Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook's Motorsport Director Europe: "After the warm reception we received from the teams and organizers here in Dubai, today's qualifying was our first chance to provide an impressive demonstration of our Hankook race tires' competitiveness at the Dubai Autodrome. There was a lot of praise from drivers and team bosses right across the classes, and that makes me extremely proud."

For further information please go to http://www.hankooktire-press.com or http://www.hankooktire-eu.com.

Contact: 

Hankook Tire Europe GmbH, Siemensstr. 5a, 63263 Neu-Isenburg, Germany