Hankook spokesperson Steven Cho explains the philosophy in the WRC3 and WRC7 compounds
Photography by Toyota
Words by David Evans, DirtFish Head of Media
And there it is, 40 degrees. Hello three figures in Fahrenheit. There’s no doubting Sardinia was a hot one this year. Yet, with fancy Italian ice cream melting faster than you could say gelato, teams were sending Rally1 cars to the stages with soft compound Hankooks bolted to each corner.
There’s nothing new in making a soft tire last in baking conditions, Sébastien Ogier has shown himself to be the master of this. But there’s a difference between spinning wheels in inches of loose while running first on the road and setting about scorching Sardinian stages swept to the bedrock.
It’ll be the same in Greece next week. Korean boots are made to last.
Coming into its maiden season at rallying’s highest level, Hankook was very clear on its intention to avoid as many tire failures (punctures in old money) as possible. It’s done that brilliantly. But maybe the time’s come for a change…
Hankook's rubber is known for being robust - but are changes on the way?
I know, I know, I’ve been the one banging on about building a tire and then not touching it in terms of development or evolution for the duration of the supply cycle. I stand by that. I still think the tire is the tire is the tire: same for everybody, fit them and forget them. But the overlapping nature of the Hankook Dynapro WRC3 (hard) and WRC7 (soft) is impacting on the potential for crews taking a more strategic approach to a loop.
World championship leader Elfyn Evans agreed. Pulling his overalls off his shoulders and sliding back beneath a Toyota umbrella held above his head in an effort to deflect the blistering heat, the Welshman smiled at the talk of anything other than a bullet-hard cover.
“It’s still a bit hard to know what’s the best between the soft and the hard,” he said. “I was using the hard and definitely that seemed to bring a few more challenges for me. It was quite harsh, but at the same time, with this 45-degree ground temperature, you would normally not really consider anything other [than the hard compound] in Sardinia.
“It seems the guys managed to make the soft last, even if it was a bit on the edge. The two compounds are quite close together in terms of longevity: the hard feels quite hard, while the soft one moves around a bit – but in terms of tire life, they’re not so different.”
In terms of tire life, the championship leader says the soft and hard compounds are similar
As has been the case with almost everything in terms of tires, Hankook is across this. Spokesperson Steven Cho offers insight from the factory.
“We weren’t surprised to see the soft tire being used in hot conditions,” Cho told DirtFish. “We knew through testing and all of our other running that the overlap between the soft and the hard is quite wide. So the operating window is quite wide. That doesn’t mean they’re not operating at an optimized condition: when you go to the higher limit or the lower limit of temperature, then you definitely see the hard or the soft come into their own, but there is a big overlap.”
Drivers, as we know, are permanently chasing percentages. They want more performance and more disparate compounds would potentially bring the chance to win bigger. Cho’s quick to counter that thinking.
“In a positive way,” he said, “it’s difficult for someone to really miss big on a tire choice. That’s a good thing. But in the future, as we look at our development plan, we can think about maybe increasing that delta between the hard and the soft. There will be pros and cons. We’re looking at those things.”
That’s not all that’s being considered tire-wise. Next week’s Acropolis Rally is likely to be the last super-hot gravel counter of the season (with the possible exception of Saudi Arabia in late November). With Lamia done, the dirt largely gets faster, cooler and likely wetter as the season’s second half progresses.
That brings the need for a change to the Dynapro. The big-block pattern which helped give the tire its durability and – certainly in the case of the hard – its consistency simply won’t work if the rain sets in around Otepää next month. The pattern needs tweaking to help evacuate the mud and rain. Beyond Greece, it’s almost certain Hankook will return its gravel tire to the radically more open-pattern version seen on the Safari.
Elsewhere on the development schedule could be a solution to more progressive degradation as the tire nears the end of its life.
Cho added: “We are in the process of discussing with the different stakeholders and, of course, the FIA. We don’t like to make our own arbitrary decision. But we do have a few different specifications in our pocket.
“It would be naive to think we’re not going to have issues with the tires in conditions like the ones we saw [in Sardinia]. We like to have a perfect tire that finishes the event, but if it can’t finish, we’d like it to have air pressure. If it doesn’t have air pressure, we’d like it to stay together. In all those sort of cases, we’ve been pleased with the results.”
It’s well documented that not everybody’s been able to find the perfect working relationship with the 2025-grade tires yet, but the lack of punctures and that desire to deliver for the WRC remains entirely laudable for Cho and his colleagues.
Words:David Evans
Publish Date June 18, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/06/g9AJfk3P-EVANS06ITA25tb212-780x520.jpg June 18, 2025
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