.jpg)
While performance tyres are all about grip, the growing but still fledgling sport of drifting seems to be all about the total lack of grip. However, Hankook drift expert and number two Korean drift competitor Joosuk Jang says it is more about having a tyre that they can predict and ‘feel’.
It also pays to have trust in a tyre when some drifting competition can feature sideways displays at up to 170km/h. The 32-year-old should know about feel and predictability. He is not only a drift ‘god’, but also a former Korean GT champion.
Jang is now preparing for a season of racing and drifting in the US and hopes to one day be ‘a famous drifting champion’. He says the key to drifting is throttle control, but his explanation of the intricacies of the art of making a car dance sideways remains veiled by his lack of English and an interpretor who doesn't quite convey the nuances Mr Jang seems to display in his body language.
Jang's tyre of choice for a drifting display at Hankook's Geumsan proving ground is the 225mm-wide Hankook Ventus S1 EVO with a 40 profile on 18-inch wheels under his 340-horsepower (253.5kW) Hyundai Genesis Coupe. He's not just horsing around with the horses, either.
After just a couple of minutes of tyre-smoking action, the car's turbo is on fire and the Hankooks have melted down to the metal. All in a day's work.
