World Rally Championship teams will have a new tyre at their disposal to tackle this weekend’s Safari Rally Kenya and the remaining gravel rounds this year.
WRC tyre supplier Hankook has developed a new soft compound gravel tyre known as the Dynapro R213, which will make its debut on the brutal gravel stages in Kenya this week.
Its introduction comes following criticism from WRC drivers regarding the performance and reliability of the tyres particularly in rough gravel events, with Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville saying that the rubber was “not the level” required for the championship after suffering multiple failures at Acropolis Rally Greece last year. This year, drivers were also critical of Hankook’s winter tyre at Monte Carlo in January. Hankook has since confirmed it is developing a new winter tyre for 2027.
The new gravel tyre is visually similar to those utilised last year, but features a different construction and compound, and should provide more of a distinct difference in performance compared to the hard compound tyre. It should also deliver better performance and durability in the harshest of conditions. This new soft compound gravel tyre has undergone extensive development that began last year with all three Rally1 teams involved in the process.
“This tyre has been in development throughout last year. In fact, since the announcement of our tyre supply in 2024, we’ve been working closely and diligently on tyre specification development together with the FIA and the manufacturers,” said Hankook’s Steven Cho in a media conference.
“This particular tyre was developed by taking a lot of the feedback we received from the manufacturers and the drivers as they started to better understand our product a little bit better.
Hankook tyres
Photo by: Toyota Racing
“Some of the key feedback we received was that our first specification, which we launched last year, was generally commendable feedback. Aside from extremely rough rallies – or situations where punctures are unavoidable, generally speaking our reliability and durability have been strong points.
“But we also got feedback from the drivers saying that a little more compliance would be nice. They wanted a bigger performance delta between the hard and soft compounds would be a good performance step forward, and a bit more compliance to all for some improved performance in lower temperatures, particularly in damp or wet outside. So, we took all the feedback on and set a direction with our R&D team in Korea and through several iterations and test events we are ready to bring this new tyre to the WRC.
“The feedback of the tyre has been across the board positive and for sure in the right direction and it will be put to good use this weekend.”
Hankook has confirmed the new soft compound gravel tyre will be available at all gravel events for the remainder of the season, with a new hard compound version to be introduced at Rally Portugal in May following delays in completing the final tests. There are no plans to make any changes to the asphalt tyres for this year.
Hankook braced for tougher Safari Rally Kenya
The new tyre is set to undergo a thorough examination this week with this edition of Safari Rally Kenya expected to be even more challenging that last year’s event.
“Last year, when we came to Kenya for the first time, people were already saying it was the roughest Safari anyone had seen in a while,” Cho added.
“So, I asked how this year compares, and the answer was even more difficult.
“The heavy rain has brought a lot of mud onto the roads, and that mud is now exposing large rocks, bedrock and other hidden hazards. So, we’re expecting another incredibly difficult and challenging event for the drivers, teams and of course for our tyres as well. But we are expecting a much improved performance from where we were last year.”
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