The Hankook iON Race is faster than ever – new record times at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia

Hankook and its premium product, the Hankook iON Race, have enjoyed a good start to Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. During the official test days in Valencia, Spain, the times set at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo were significantly better than in Hankook's maiden year. "The teams have had a whole season to get used to the new Formula E tyres and gain experience. The findings are paying off now. The drivers and their crews are now even more aware of how to get the maximum performance out of the Hankook iON Race," explains Hankook's Motorsport Director Manfred Sandbichler.

Felix Kinzer, Hankook's Director of Communications, is also eagerly awaiting the first race in Mexico on 13th January of next year: "We are really looking forward to our second season in Formula E. Our tyre fulfilled all the specifications we were given by Formula E in Season 9 and provided the perfect support for the drivers as they chased the best times. Whether in hot, cold, dry, or wet conditions, the Hankook iON Race is characterised by a high level of consistency and grip. And we will be entering our second Formula E season with this same high level of commitment to quality."

Mitch Evans of Jaguar TCS Racing the fastest driver in Valencia

For the 22 drivers and teams of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the official pre-season testing for the all-electric race series was all about fine-tuning ahead of the first race in January 2024. Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) has particular reason to be happy. The man from New Zealand made the most of the Hankook iON Race's performance and completed a lap of the 3.376-kilometre track with nine left-hand and six right-hand turns in 1:24.474 minutes, making him the fastest driver at the Spanish dress rehearsal for Formula E Season 10.

Fire in pit lane interrupts Formula E Pre-Season Testing

After a fire damaged a garage in the pit lane after the first test session on Tuesday morning, the official test was paused until Thursday lunchtime to allow the cause to be investigated. Practice times missed out on were made up for with a modified schedule for the teams. However, the dropped test sessions meant that several rookies missed out on the chance to test the Gen3 fast cars in Valencia.

Interview with Hankook's test and development driver Benoît Tréluyer

Three-time overall winner of the legendary 24-hour race in Le Mans and 2012 WEC champion – Hankook's test and development driver Benoît Tréluyer has been enjoying a very successful motorsport career and, thanks to his expertise, has been a significant factor in the success of the premium product and new standardised tyre in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the Hankook iON Race.

The iON Race will remain unchanged for Season 10. What are you working on currently?
It goes without saying that I would love to spend all my time in the car working on the tyres, that is what I prefer to do. But that's not always an option. Currently, I am observing and analysing the latest tyres. I'll discuss the results with the engineers and then we will plan a new development programme.

After a year in Formula E – what is your conclusion regarding the Hankook iON Race?
As expected, the drivers and teams found it difficult to exploit the tyre's full potential at the start of the season because they were unfamiliar with the tyre. But at the end of Season 9, we saw that the tyre had worked very well at every track and in all conditions – without any safety issues and with low wear and tear.

Do you think that based on the experiences of the teams in Season 9, the drivers will be able to get even more out of the tyres?

Last year we predicted that every team would be much faster at testing in Valencia in the second season, and this was the case. The step won't be quite as big next year, but I expect that some teams will improve their performance more significantly than others.

Without giving too much away: Why will the Season 11 tyre be even better than the current version?

With the result that we achieved in the ninth season, I feel that we are in the position of developing tyres with even better performance that are very sustainable and subject to low wear and tear. This is the result of our experience and feedback from the FIA, teams, and, of course, the drivers.

Name change: NIO 333 Racing becomes ERT Formula E

The former NIO 333 Racing team will contest Season 10 with the two drivers Sergio Sette Camara and Dan Ticktum under the name ERT Formula E. 333 Racing ended their collaboration with Chinese car manufacturer Nio. The abbreviation ERT stands for Electric Racing Technologies, and the team's headquarters are in Silverstone in Britain.

Updated Calendar

After the FIA World Motor Sport Council's (WMSC) meeting in October, Formula E has released the second version of the race calendar for the 2024 season. As in Season 9, 16 races are scheduled for 2024. New to the calendar are stops in Tokyo (Japan) and Shanghai (China). While there will be no races in Rome, Cape Town, or Jakarta this time around.