Le Mans podium highlights KUMHO’s 2006 ALMS season

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA… October 31, 2006… Following its successful 2005 debut season in the American Le Mans Series, when KUMHO scored a class win a the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and two other wins, 2006 looked to be a promising season.

KUMHO started the 2006 ALMS season with 2005 partner Miracle Motorsports, again running in the LMP2 class. Following the season opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Miracle decided to forgo the rest of the ALMS schedule and focus on the 24 Hours of Le Mans. KUMHO then partnered with Mazda B-K Motorsports, again in the LMP2 class.

B-K and KUMHO started off well, finishing second at the Lone Star Grand Prix in Houston and fourth at Mid-Ohio. KUMHO then headed to France with Miracle Motorsports for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. At the 100 th anniversary edition of the 24-hour classic, KUMHO and Miracle pulled off a fine third-place finish in the LMP2 class, much to the satisfaction of Rudy Consolacion, motorsports manager for KUMHO Tire USA.

“To finish Le Mans is one thing, but to get on the podium is just incredible, especially in just our second attempt,” he said. “We made a big step this year, and I think all of the other tire manufacturers are taking notice.”

KUMHO and B-K Motorsports returned to ALMS action on July 1 at Lime Rock, but a big crash knocked the team out of the race—and out of the next four races as well.

After extensive repairs, B-K returned for the last two races of the season. Joining B-K on KUMHO tires was van der Steur Racing, running its new Radical SR9 LMP2 car. Both cars ran well at the 10-hour Petit Le Mans before dropping out with engine-related problems.

At the final race of the season at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, van der Steur held the class lead early in the four-hour race, with driver Ben Devlin holding off the mighty Penske Porsches for several laps. “ It was fantastic,” said Devlin. “We took a bit of a gamble with KUMHO on a softer compound for qualifying to get a little bit more grip. We were a little worried with the temperatures coming up on race day, but the tires stayed there clear through the stint. It was nice to play with the Porsches a bit. We’ve come a long way in the little bit of time we’ve had with this car. I think it’s going to go a long way and be a real strong car for next year.”

The Radical retired from the race at the three-hour mark with starter problems. Meanwhile, the B-K Mazda ran well, finishing fourth in class. B-K retired its car after the race and will have an all new car and engine next year.

“We’re looking forward to the 2007 season,” said Consolacion. “Acura is joining Porsche and Mazda in the LMP2 class, which will make that class very competitive and the focus of lots of media attention. Mazda’s new car should be very quick, and the Radical will also compete for class wins. We’re talking with teams from other classes that have expressed an interest in running our tires, and we want to return to Le Mans and compete for the top step of the podium. It should be an exciting season.”

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