With a record entry of 100 cars, the eleventh running of the Hankook 24H DUBAI marked a great start of the 2016 season in the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook. Now, the action continues, with the next round, the Hankook 12H ITALY-MUGELLO (March 18-19, 2016) less than two months away and the inaugural Hankook 24H SILVERSTONE – European Touring Car Edition (April 1-3, 2016) following soon after that. But there is more news from CREVENTIC, promoters and organisers of the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook, with the announcement of more touring car races for this year. The inaugural Hankook 24H SLOVAKIA will be held on June 15 and 16. Meanwhile, plans for a touring car endurance race in Germany are also in an advanced stage. Venue and date for this event will be announced shortly.
“The race in Dubai keeps getting bigger and better in many ways,” says Natasha Mark on behalf of CREVENTIC. “From the Welcome Party in the paddock of Dubai Autodrome on Wednesday evening all the way to the prize-giving ceremony after the race on Saturday, the event was a huge success. We have received very positive feedback from many teams and drivers. The numbers for our live-stream, with twice as many viewers as last year, and for our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts increased significantly. Again, we were trending on Twitter, even for many hours after the race.”
Already 75 entries for Hankook 12H ITALY-MUGELLO
For the Hankook 12H ITALY-MUGELLO, the next round of the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook, 75 entries have been received already. For the Italian event, there is particular interest in the A6 (GT3), SP3 (GT4), Porsche Cup and TCR classes. “Of course, we have our full-season entrants plus several teams that have registered for the race at Mugello as a stand-alone event. We can still accommodate a few teams, but they should act quickly to secure their slots on the grid,” Natasha Mark says. “Like for Dubai, we again expect to have to work with a waiting list for Mugello and other rounds as well, so the sooner the teams submit their entries and pay the fee, the better their chance to be in the race!”
New touring car races added to the calendar
Building on the success of the inaugural Hankook 24H SILVERSTONE – European Touring Car Edition, two further endurance races for touring cars will be added to the calendar of the 2016 24H SERIES powered by Hankook. On June 15-16, the Slovakia Ring near Bratislava will serve as the venue for the inaugural Hankook 24H SLOVAKIA, the first-ever race of the 24H SERIES to be held on weekdays only (Wednesday and Thursday). Later in the season, a touring car race in Germany will be held as well, with venue and date yet to be announced. “With Silverstone, Slovakia Ring and the German event, we plan to create an International Endurance Series for touring cars, for which we hope to get an official FIA International Series status as well. The goal is to keep these events low-key, easy and affordable, so it really is back to our roots. We are working hard for these events and we will provide more information soon,” Natasha Mark says.