Kumho Tire Sponsors Racing Team 'Solite Indigo Racing'

Kumho Tire announced on the 15th that it will officially sponsor South Korea's representative racing team 'Solite Indigo Racing,' which competes in the Hyundai N Festival eN1 class.

The sponsorship signing ceremony was attended by Yoon Jang-hyuk, Executive Director of G. Marketing at Kumho Tire, Ko Jang-hwan, Director in charge of Hyundai Sungwoo Solite Racing, Lee Jae-woo, the team director, and other officials from both sides.

The eN1 class is an electric vehicle race within the Hyundai N Festival, the largest one-make (single model) race in Korea, featuring races with the Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup car. The 'Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup car' is a race car built by integrating advanced electrification technologies such as front and rear motors with a maximum output of 478 kW (650 horsepower) and a high-output 84.0 kWh battery, maximizing driving performance and adding various elements for circuit racing.

Solite Indigo Racing, founded in 1997, is Korea's top racing team leading the country's motorsports scene and is a motorsports team under Hyundai Sungwoo Group, a manufacturer of automotive parts. The Hyundai Sungwoo Group includes its holding company Hyundai Sungwoo Holdings, Hyundai Sungwoo Casting, a manufacturer of alloy wheels and casting products, Hyundai Sungwoo Solite, a specialist in automotive batteries and lead-acid batteries, and Hyundai Sungwoo New Materials, engaged in logistics and new material development.

Marking its 27th anniversary this year, Solite Indigo Racing is undoubtedly the top domestic motorsports team, active on both domestic and international stages. Notably, the team has raised the status of Korean motorsports by achieving remarkable results such as winning the overall drivers' championship in the 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia and finishing second overall in the TCR Asia team championship. Additionally, in 2023, Solite Indigo Racing became the first Asian team to participate in the full season of TCR Italy, entering the top 10, achieving more than expected in its inaugural year competing in Europe, the birthplace of motorsports.

In particular, through this sponsorship agreement, Kumho Tire will apply its brand to the Solite Indigo Racing team's race cars and driver suits throughout the 2024 season. Kumho Tire will also supply racing tires to the Solite Indigo Racing team, aiming to demonstrate its top-tier racing tire technology in the eN1 class, Korea's first EV race.

Ko Jang-hwan, Director of Hyundai Sungwoo Solite, said, “We are very grateful to Kumho Tire for deciding to sponsor us. Especially, the full support from a global tire company will be a very strong pillar for a team entering electric vehicle racing for the first time.” He added, “We hope this agreement will serve as a good example not only for mutual development and expanding a strategic partnership between the two companies but also for the development and expansion of the domestic motorsports base.”

Yoon Jang-hyuk, Executive Director of G. Marketing at Kumho Tire, said, “We are very pleased to sign a sponsorship contract with Solite Indigo Racing, the country's top prestigious racing team.” He added, “This contract has strengthened the trust between the two companies and laid the foundation for various collaborations in the domestic and international motorsports fields in the future.”