Why tyres matter in race for Safari Rally glory

The Kenyan leg of the World Rally Championship (WRC), the Safari rally is indeed a unique one.

Drivers strangely know in advance what to expect but at the same time, do not know what they will find, run through, jump over or zoom past.

Its unpredictable nature is due to the deep dust beds, the renowned “fesh fesh”, rocky terrain, wildlife encounters and sudden rainfall, which, for some, is a blessing.

To become number one in the Safari Rally, a car must have good tyres.

Hankook Tire took over as the official and exclusive tyre supplier for the WRC this year, following the end of Pirelli’s four-year contract.

The Korean firm believe they have left no stones unturned in designing the official tyre, the Dynapro R213.

“The Safari Rally is notoriously tough on tyres, but we’ve come fully prepared,” Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook Tire WRC Representative told Standard Sports.

The tyre design was centered on durability and the company used compounds that are stable thermally and very durable to ensure punctures, cuts and event extreme temperatures when flat out are not a problem to rally drivers.

Extensive testing was done across 17 vehicle evaluations spanning nine months, from summer to wet and icy and winter conditions.

“We’ve clocked countless testing kilometres and put in significant development work,” Sandbichler said.

The tyres come in two options, hard and soft, which allows teams to choose based on track or weather conditions.

Soft compound tyres do better in wetter surfaces while hard tyres give the best performance in hot dry terrain.

With the ever-growing call for eco-friendly practices in any sport, Hankook integrated recycled materials into the tyres.