Kumho will again supply all competitors in the Bosch Australian Rally Championship with a range of tyres to suit the various conditions encountered across the five round series, which starts in Western Australia on April 15-17 with the Quit Forest Rally.
In addition Kumho has boosted and changed the target for its popular Kumho Future Champions Award by switching its focus to the Rallyschool Junior Australian Rally Challenge to continue to help encourage and develop new driving talent.
The Bosch Australian Rally Championship is one of the oldest and toughest in the world and will be used by Kumho as a valuable tyre development program with knowledge gained in the heat of rally competition being used to engineer better passenger car tyres for the future.
According to Kumho Tyres Australia national marketing manager, David Basha, the continued relationship with the Bosch ARC is an important part of Kumho's strategy to position it as a supplier of technologically advanced performance tyres capable of handling the rigours of Australian conditions.
"The performance of Kumho tyres in the ARC last year surprised a lot of people not the least being the competitors who witnessed just how good our tyres are first hand and demonstrated their performance by breaking many existing stage records," said David Basha.
"Kumho will continue to use the Bosch ARC as a valuable tyre development program with knowledge gained in the heat of rally competition being used to engineer better passenger car tyres for the future," he said.
"The company's involvement has helped make the sport of rallying more cost effective for competitors reducing tyre expenditure by as much as 50 percent which saved many ARC teams close to $2000 per rally or around $12,000 across the 2010 series," he added.
"The important change in Kumho's support for the Bosch ARC in 2011 is the fact that the Kumho Future Champions Award will be exclusively for entrants in the Rallyschool.com.au Junior Australian Rally Challenge, to help better recognise the rising talent in the sport of rallying," David Basha added.
As part of Kumho's increased support for the Rallyschool.com.au JARC both the 2WD and 4WD class at each of the three qualifying rounds in WA, Queensland and South Australia will see the leading qualifier receive four free tyres.
In addition Kumho will also give eight tyres for the overall winner of both the 2WD and 4WD classes in the Rallyschool.com.au JARC final at Rally Australia to be used as part of the 2WD winners all expenses paid ride at Rally Victoria in a Rallyschool Unrestricted ARC car while the overall winner of the 4WD category also receive eight tyres to be used on their own vehicle as part of their prize package at Rally Victoria.
CEO of the Bosch ARC, Scott Pedder, welcomed Kumho's commitment to the Championship and they role it has played in helping  the rebirth of the championship.
"Kumho's support for the championship an for the Future Champions Award has been and continues to be major boost to the series and we welcome the commitment and drive that Kumho has brought to the Bosch ARC," said Scott Pedder.
Competitors in the Bosch Australian Rally Championship will have a choice between three different types of tyre, the Kumho R900 for hard packed gravel, the R800 which is an asymmetrical design and aimed at loose gravel and the R700 which is a wet weather tyre designed for muddy conditions.
Each competitor will be allowed 16 tyres for each ARC round with 12 primary tyres and four option tyres. Competitors have to nominate their primary and option choices prior to each rally.
The tyres will be available in 205/65 x 15 for $231 each and are available to any rally competitor from club events to the ARC.
"It is really a much more cost effective tyre for all competitors no matter which level they are at and will greatly benefit rally competitors from beginners to the top level," said Kumho Motorsport manager, John Mills.
Kumho has also contributed financial support to rallying which will help the regrowth of the sport and build a stronger competition into the future.
Since it's inception in 1960, Kumho Tyres has been a model of steady growth amid dramatic changes of business landscape. Driven by innovation in management and technical development Kumho has become one of the top ten tyre companies.
Over the past half-century Kumho Tyres has built the foundation for a sustainable company, which has thrived through a full range of business environments.
Kumho has succeeded in the development of superior tyres for all vehicles including high performance, passenger, sports utility and recreational vehicles, as well as light trucks, heavy truck and buses, industrial, agricultural, mining and construction vehicles as well as aircraft.
Kumho produces more than 65 million tyres annually with a massive research and development program which comprises more than 600 research personnel and 300 testing machines at proving grounds in South Korea, China, Europe and North America, Kumho leads the world with the latest in tyre technology, safety and performance.
In Australia Kumho markets an extensive range of tyres for cars, 4WD's, light commercials, trucks and buses with a network centered around five state locations with the ability to distribute tyres to retailers across all areas of Australia.Â
SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
