Kumho Tire's racing team to compete in CJ Super Race
Singer and TV personality Kim Jin-pyo, right, a coach of Kumho Tire Ecsta Racing Team, poses for a photo with racers Yuji Ide, center, and Jung Eui-chul. / Courtesy of Kumho Tire
By Jun Ji-hye
Kumho Tire's racing team Ecsta Racing Team will compete in the 2019 CJ Logistics Super Race, a professional race car drivers' racing championship series that kicks off Saturday for a two-day run, the company said Friday.
Set up in 2014, Kumho Tire Ecsta Racing Team consists of veteran drivers including former professional F1 racer Yuji Ide from Japan and racer Jung Eui-chul, with singer and TV personality Kim Jin-pyo serving as team coach.
Ecsta Racing Team was named after the firm's flagship product, Ecsta. It is exclusively designed for driving on the circuits.
The racing team won trophies at CJ Super Race in 2015 and 2016, while racer Jung was picked as the champion of the 2016 season.
The team continued to display its abilities in the 2017 and 2018 CJ Super Race, finishing second in the competitions.
The nation's second-largest tiremaker said the racing team is set to demonstrate its ability and teamwork during this year's event.
The team will compete in the Super 6000, one of the Super Race's competition categories divided by engine displacement. The Super 6000 is a competition for cars with an engine displacement of 6,200 cubic centimeters.
“The Ecsta Racing Team has been able to achieve good results on the back of the advanced racing tire technology of Kumho Tire,” coach Kim said. “We will do our best to regain our champion title this year.”
Based on its technological prowess in F1 racing tires, the tire manufacturing arm of Kumho Asiana Group has emerged as a global tire brand, having been selected as an official tire partner in a variety of motorsports competitions in and outside the country.
The company will offer its racing tires to all cars participating in CJ Super Race GT Class.