Kumho ready to build on success story.

Korean multinational Kumho Tyres is preparing to round off one of the most exciting years in its motorsport history with the international Formula Three grand finale in Changwon, South Korea, this weekend.

The 2002 season has seen Kumho appointed as official tyre supplier for both the prestigious Marlboro Masters of F3 at Zandvoort, and the ultra-competitive French F3 Championship, as well as providing the rubber for its 'home' event in Changwon.

The annual Dutch event brings together the leading teams from the national F3 series, and the advanced research and design technology of Kumho Tyres has led to the company being designated as official tyre supplier for the event until 2006. Brazilian Fabio Carbone, who won the 2002 Zandvoort Masters in commanding style, taking the first F3 victory of his career in the process, was extremely impressed with the Kumho compound.

"Kumho tyres are good," he said, "This is a big race, so everything is difficult and very competitive. Tyres therefore are also important and these are perfect for me."

Carbone will be pleased to be returning to the tyres which helped him clinch his momentous win in Europe, when he lines up on the grid for the Korean Super Prix. There he will meet Tristan Gommendy, newly-crowned French F3 champion and winner of the Macau F3 Grand Prix last weekend. The Frenchman is another fan of the Kumho product.

"It's one thing to have one tyre for a championship, but if it's not a good tyre it doesn't make for good racing," he commented recently, "The ECSTA racing compound tyres have made for a very good championship, which I am delighted to have won."

Winner of last year's International F3 Korea Super Prix, Frenchman Jonathan Cochet, was also highly impressed by the tyres.

"They are so consistent," he explained, "In the build up to the race, I used tyres that had run for 60 laps and they were still perfect."

India's Narain Karthikeyan, who returns to Korea this year in a bid to repeat his 2000 victory, described his Kumho tyres as 'world class' during last year's event.

Kumho's meteoric rise in success and stature in the fiercely competitive tire world can be largely attributed to its acclaimed Ultra High Performance (UHP) tyres with the company's ECSTA compound spearheading its worldwide campaign. The ECSTA brand has played a vital role in challenging Kumho's rivals on the world's race tracks. By testing the boundaries of performance and durability at the height of competition, the Korean manufacturer has been able to directly influence the quality and performance of its commercially available road tyres.

Such has been the success of the company's use of motorsport that the ECSTA KH11 compound finished in the top three in the 2002 Giant Tyre Test organised by top UK weekly motoring magazine Auto Express. The compound was praised significantly for its wet braking capability and premium performance, finishing well ahead of renowned manufacturers, Michelin, Goodyear, Pirelli and Bridgestone.

Kumho's dedication to its research and development programme and effective utilisation of motorsport is set to continue with soaring sales in the global market reflecting the high regard in which Kumho tyres are held.