Jake Dennis on course for the world championship after a scorcher at the Hankook Rome E-Prix

- The penultimate round in Rome pushed the Hankook iON Race to the limit, and the checkered flag goes to the racers who coped best with the challenging conditions
- Mitch Evans and Jake Dennis, and Maximilian Günther compliment Hankook iON with its consistent performance throughout the race
- ABT Motorsport Director and former racing driver Martin Tomczyk visited Formula E in person, for the first time at the Hankook Rome E-Prix.

Seoul, Korea, July 17, 2023 – Hot, hotter, Rome. The penultimate round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship turned out to be an absolute scorcher. With air temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius and the asphalt hitting about 60 degrees Celsius, the drivers, teams, and the Hankook iON Race were pushed to the limit. The racers who coped best with the challenging conditions were New Zealand’s Mitch Evans, who won Saturday’s opening race of the Hankook Rome E-Prix for the Jaguar TCS Racing team, and Jake Dennis (GB/Avalanche Andretti Formula E), who took the checkered flag on Sunday.

Hankook Motorsport Director Manfred Sandbichler said “What a magnificent race weekend. We have seen two exciting races with delighted winners. And the Hankook iON Race also impressed again with a commanding performance and absolute reliability – despite the fact that the extreme heat was not the only thing making the conditions challenging. Circuito Cittadino dell´EUR in Rome had a little bit of something from all the tracks we have visited so far in Season 9. Five different types of asphalt and different colored surfaces meant the grip level changed all the time on this track. Climbs and descents, banking around roughly half the circuit, and the tight 90-degree corners that demanded hard braking really put our Hankook iON Race through its paces. We have received very positive feedback on the tire’s performance from the drivers. I am also very glad that none of the drivers involved in the big crash in Saturday’s race were injured. That shows that the cars’ safety concept is very effective.”

Victory for Dennis sees him move to the top of the Drivers’ Championship with 195 points. He is on course to win the world championship with just two races remaining. New Zealander Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) is second with 171 points. Cassidy’s compatriot and the winner of Saturday’s race, Mitch Evans, lies third going into the final event.

Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) – winner on Saturday quoted that “Those were really difficult conditions for the tires today. However, I cannot complain at all. The tire was very consistent all races.”

“The tires were really okay. The heat made it more challenging after the first 15 laps, but we coped well and got the maximum out of the race. We are happy.” said Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti Formula E), winner of the Sunday race.

Maximilian Günther (Maserati MSG Racing) who recorded third on Saturday agreed commenting that “The tire worked well today, even in these conditions with high temperatures and different surfaces. The key is to always keep the tire in that window, in which it performs at its best. I did a good job of that. It became a bit trickier in the closing laps of the race, but I had everything under control.”

Hankook officials presented the trophies to the top drivers after races 13 and 14 of the season at the double-header in Rome. On Saturday, the victorious Jaguar TCS Racing team received its trophy from Sanghoon Lee, President & COO, Hankook Tire Europe. Manfred Sandbichler, Director of Hankook Motorsport, congratulated Avalanche Andretti Formula E on the podium on Sunday and presented the winning team with its trophy.

As at the season-opener in Mexico City and the race in Monaco, Hankook treated the Italian fans to the iON Race with colorful tread grooves in the company colors of Hankook Orange and iON Blue. The eye-catching tires will be in action again at the season finale, the Hankook London E-Prix in two weeks. “We are delighted that the colorful accents on our Hankook iON Race, which symbolize performance and energy efficiency, are so well received by the fans, drivers, and teams every time they make an appearance,” said Felix Kinzer, Hankook’s Communications Director.

Hankook used its title sponsorship at the Hankook Rome E-Prix to run a host of promotions. As well as the winners of media collaborations, journalists and Hankook dealers also accepted an invitation from the official technical partner and tire supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship to meet up at the penultimate round of Season 9. Here, they enjoyed exclusive pit tours with the ABT Cupra Formula E Team a Meet & Greet with former Formula E driver and TV commentator Daniel Abt, and media sessions. A lucky few also got to experience a ride around the racetrack in the passenger seat of a Porsche Taycan.

Jake Dennis thrilled fans at the Hankook Rome E-Prix with a very special helmet design. The Briton’s head protection had been designed to resemble a gladiator’s helmet. Appropriately, Dennis presented the helmet with a video from the Colosseum in Rome.

ABT Motorsport Director and former racing driver Martin Tomczyk visited Formula E in person for the first time at the Hankook Rome E-Prix. Since March of this year, the 41-year-old has held a managerial role in the team from Kempten. His presence appeared to spur on the team: Tomczyk was pleased to witness the best result so far for the ABT Cupra Formula E Team in Saturday’s race, with Nico Müller crossing the finish line in sixth place.

Aston Martin’s junior Formula 1 driver Felipe Drugovich was the fastest driver at the official Rookie Test, which followed the Berlin E-Prix, as he enjoyed a successful first outing in Formula E. The Brazilian was back at the wheel of the Maserati Tipo Folgore for the special free practice session for rookies in Rome, where he once again demonstrated his huge talent and top handling skills with the Hankook iON Race. The 23-year-old completed the 3.385-kilometer lap of the street circuit in the Italian capital in a time of 1:43.736 minutes, making him the top rookie for the second time in Season 9.

This is one way to make new friends in the paddock: drivers Sacha Fenestraz and Norman Nato from the Nissan Formula E Team made their own variety of ice cream ahead of the Hankook Rome E-Prix, and then personally handed out this welcome refreshment to their fellow drivers and team members. The rather unusual flavor: cherry blossom! After all, the Japanese plant was the inspiration behind the livery of their Nissan Gen3 cars. Sacha Fenestraz enjoyed the successful promotion and said: “See, we have lots of friends now!”