November 25, 2001

KUMHO TIRES IMPRESS F3 STARS AT
INTERNATIONAL F3 KOREA SUPER PRIX

Korean multinational tire experts, Kumho Tires, earned high praise today from the world's leading F3 drivers. As Official Tire Supplier to the International F3 Korea Super Prix, the drivers ran on Kumho's widely acclaimed ECSTA racing compound.

Following his convincing victory in this year's Super Prix, Jonathan Cochet made special mention of the Ultra High Performance compound, "I was extremely surprised by the high quality of these tires. They are so consistent. In Sunday's warm up I used tires that had run for 60 laps and they still felt perfect. It was incredible".

Last year's victor, Indian racer Narain Karthikeyan, claimed that Kumho rubber was "world class", adding, "They are very durable and the performance never drops off. They are of an extremely high quality."

Other leading drivers in this weekend's blue riband event were also very positive about the company's cutting-edge race rubber.

Promatecme UK's Andy Priaulx, who used Kumho Tires to snatch a front row grid position, commented, "The Kumhos stay fresh for a long time. They also look really nicely constructed and well prepared. That's an important factor, but their real value is in their consistency."

Ulsterman Derek Hayes who lined up fifth on the grid for Sunday's third International Super Prix, was also impressed by the quality of the ECSTA brand. He added, "You get lots of grip on new tires. You can go flat out for four to five laps in qualifying, then cool things off and still push hard for another three or four more laps."

Priaulx's French team mate Bruce Jouanny also commented on the superior quality of the Korean rubber, "These Kumho tires are entirely dependable; you don't get any nasty surprises with these tires. Others I've tried sometimes react unusually but these are fine. They're very similar to the tires we use in the British series."

Kumho Tires beat off fierce competition from a number of international manufacturers to secure Official Tire Supplier status at the International F3 Korea Super Prix for the second successive year.

The Korean multinational, which has already made many successful forays into international motorsport, plans to build on its experience at this level to graduate to the sport's highest echelon, Formula One. Motorsport has already proved an effective marketing tool for the organisation, which has increased sales of its UHP tires by over 70% in the 12 months since the last International Super Prix.

Established in 1960, Kumho Tires is owned by Kumho Industrial Company Limited, and is the 10th largest tire manufacturer in the world, with sales last year of $1.235 billion. Kumho manufactures and distributes a wide range of tires for private cars, light and heavy-duty trucks. It has manufacturing facilities in Korea and China, and has Technical Centres in Birmingham, UK and Akron, Ohio.

For more information, please contact:
In Goo, Lee/Kumho Tires Marketing Team
(Tel: 82-2-6303-8254, Fax: 82-2-6303-8297, Email:
power399@dreamwiz.com or kumhotires@korea.com