Kumho Tire has signed an agreement to become the title sponsor of the new TCR World Tour in 2023, with the South Korean company also acting as the exclusive tyre supplier.
WSC Group, the promoter of the new series, and Kumho Tire had already worked together on developing a bespoke tyre for TCR competition, which was announced in late 2021.
Last year, TCR Europe was the first major series to commit to using the new rubber, with TCR Denmark also following, as well as TCR Eastern Europe and TCR Spain.
More recently, TCR Australia, TCR Italy and TCR South America (all series to feature on the TCR World Tour calendar) all announced their own switches to Kumho rubber for 2023, as well as TCR Brazil and TCR Finland.
At a signing ceremony at the WSC Operative Office in Lugano last Thursday, WSC President Marcello Lotti and Kumho Tire CEO Iltaik Jung signed a three-year agreement.
“Kumho Tire has been recognized for its quality and technological excellence by providing official tyres for TCR Europe and other major events,” said Lotti. “I am certain that the inaugural KUMHO TCR World Tour this year will deliver exciting races.”
Janghyuk Yoon, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at Kumho Tire, added: “Building on years of technological expertise in motorsports, Kumho Tire is expanding its horizon as a partner of the TCR World Tour.
“We will continue to strengthen our position as a high-performance tyre brand.”
All cars participating in the TCR World Tour will be fitted with the ‘ECSTA S700’ tyre in the dry and the ‘ECSTA W701’ tyre in the wet.