With Hankook race tires and branding: KTM X-Bow R of Team Razoon convincing at the Histo Cup at the Slovakiaring

The Histo Cup has been a permanent fixture on the European motorsport scene since 1998. Historical touring cars and GT cars built between 1981 and 2001 take to the track in different engine capacity classes on renowned racetracks; around 350 registered drivers, 500 mechanics and more than 1000 supporting personnel are involved in the race weekends. Premium tire maker Hankook has been a close partner of the Histo Cup for many years and supports well-known brands such as BMW, Mini and Renault with the race tires Ventus Race. At the Slovakiaring round of the season, the Austrian team Razoon not only competed with three cars and the company’s race tires this past weekend. The KTM X-Bow R with car number 819 also had exclusive branding with the Hankook colours and logo, with journalist Michael Bräutigam at the wheel.

Neu-Isenburg, Germany, August 17, 2021 - The Histo Cup got underway with the traditional “Ravenol Endurance Sunset Race” on Friday, and the Razoon team immediately made their mark with the Hankook race tires. 25 teams were embroiled in fast-paced duels for an hour in temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius and with high humidity on the 5.922-kilometer Slovakiaring. The race finished with all three of the Austrian team’s KTM X-Bow R on the podium. It was Razoon’s first one-two-three result in a Histo Cup endurance race; Michael Bräutigam and his partner, team director Dominik Olbert, drove their Hankook-branded car with car number 819 into second place.

In the first ten-lap race, Michael Bräutigam started from sixth on the grid on Saturday. With his KTM X-Bow R and on Hankook race tires, which enabled consistently fast lap times despite the intense heat, he was able to work his way up through the field. He finished the race in fourth, only around three tenths of a second behind P3.

This made Michael Bräutigam the best Razoon driver in the overall standings of the Touring Car Open category, and he won the TCO 6 class ahead of his team-mates, the father and son team of Clemens and Daniel Drexel in the sister cars with car numbers 803 and 861.

The journalist was unlucky in the Hankook car in Sunday’s race. Qualifying in fourth, he was on track to finish in a good position for much of the race, but was forced to retire from the race after an accident. But he was still classified, and finished in second place in the TCO 6 class, behind Daniel Drexel.

Michael Bräutigam (#819 KTM X-Bow R) says, “We got off to the ideal start at the Slovakiaring with the one-two-three result on Friday. On Saturday, a spot on the podium in the overall standings was within reach. Another lap and it might have been enough. The Hankook tires had a high peak and remained consistently fast to the finish, despite the immense heat. The same was true on Sunday, but unfortunately the accident happened on lap eight. With a win and a second place in the TCO 6 class, I had a successful weekend with a brilliant team, a fantastic car and strong race tires from Hankook. The Histo Cup is a cool platform with lots of different cars and offers sport for the masses the way you want it to be.”

Dominik Olbert, Team Director Razoon says, “We got our first one-two-three result in a Histo Cup endurance race on Friday, that’s pretty impressive. The races also went really well, the Hankook tires did a fantastic job in these high temperatures, as did the team and the drivers. The Hankook-branded KTM X-Bow R was a real eye-catcher.”

Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook Motorsport Director Europe says, “Hankook and the Histo Cup have enjoyed a long-standing partnership and we are practically friends with the Steffny family who organize the event. The historic cars of various renowned brands, the fantastic tracks and the atmosphere of the Histo Cup are unique. We have been supplying various classes with our race tires at this brilliant event for many years now. With the Hankook branding of one of the Razoon team’s KTM X-Bow R we also wanted to visualize our affinity with this terrific event.”