On October 7th 2018, Shanghai International Circuit will host the SIC888, an 888-kilometre endurance event at the home of the Chinese Grand Prix.
Catering for the region’s leading GT and Touring Car teams, the seven-hour endurance event is proud to reveal that Hankook Tyre has been revealed as the sole tyre supplier for the maiden running of the event which will become a regular feature on the Asian motorsport calendar.
A co-operation between Shanghai Automobile and Motor Sports Association (SAMSA) and Shanghai International Circuit (SIC), promoter Nai Jiu, Motorsport Asia Limited and Yi-Hood Group, SIC888 is already attracting the region’s leading teams, and off the back of a weekend that will see both the penultimate round of the popular Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup, and the season final of the TCR Asia Series, many of those teams are already entered in the inaugural event.
For SIC888 Event Director David Sonenscher, the partnership with Hankook was a natural ‘fit’ given the long-standing partnerships the Korean manufacturer has with both GT and Touring Car racing worldwide, whilst also strongly supporting production car racing at home in South Korea.
“Hongsik Jeon and his team at Hankook have immense experience in the region, and with the support of the factory and their experienced engineering and support teams, will be more than ready for the rigours of the SIC888 endurance event,” Sonenscher said.
Whether DTM, the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, many of the national TCR series, endurance racing like VLN the 24-Hour Series, or rallying – the “Ventus” motorsport tyre line from Hankook has made a name for itself globally on account of its excellent performance.
“We’re pleased and proud to be involved with the SIC888 endurance event at Shanghai International Circuit,” Hankook Motorsport’s Hongsik Jeon admitted.
“We have a great heritage in the region and experience with all levels of endurance competition, from GT3 cars through to TCR and production car categories, so we know we have the perfect tyre to suit the challenges of endurance racing, and our support team have the skills and experience to ensure that every team will be fully supported in their efforts.”
The inaugural SIC888 will begin on Saturday, 6 October with two 60-minute practice sessions ahead of qualifying late in the afternoon, whilst the 888-kilometre main event itself will begin at 9:55am local time on Sunday, 7 October.
Eligible SIC888 Classes;
1. GT3, for current FIA-Homologated Grand Touring Cars complying with FIA Appendix 257A
2. GTM for pre-2015 FIA-Homologated Grand Touring Cars complying with FIA Appendix 257A plus Lamborghini Super Trofeo
3. Sports Production (SP) for Sports Production and similar performance vehicles
4. GT4 for cars complying with SRO GT4 Regulations.
5. TCR cars complying with WSC TCR Technical Regulations
6. Touring Production 1 (TP1) for high power-to-weight touring productions cars
7. Touring Production 2 (TP2) for lower power-to-weight touring productions cars
