Little rain, lots of traffic and long high-speed straights: the street circuit in the metropolis of Hyderabad posed a real challenge to the official tyre of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the Hankook iON Race. The extraordinary amount of traffic on the roads along the banks of the Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad meant the asphalt was already badly worn before it was transformed into a racetrack, and consequently provided little grip during the Formula E race. The lengthy spell of dry weather in the run-up to the arrival of the fully-electric racing series only served to exacerbate the situation. “It meant there was a lot of dirt and dust on the track, which formed a very slippery surface. Particularly at the end of the long, high-speed straights, the Hankook iON Race really had to work hard to provide the drivers with the necessary grip,” explained Thomas Baltes, Hankook Formula E Race Engineer. “The tyre also overcame the high track temperatures of over 50 degrees without any problems. The drivers are learning a lot about the new Formula E tyre in every race: after heavy rain at the test in Valencia and cool temperatures in the Saudi Arabian desert, the teams this time gained valuable experience of running the Hankook iON Race in extreme heat,” said Baltes.
